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TO THE 



MEMORY OF THE BRAVE OLD PIONEERS, 
KNIGHTS ERRANT 

OF 

THE WOOD, 

' ' Who gave her Pilgrim Sons a home 
No Monarch'' s Step profanes ; 
Free as the chainless Wmds that roam 
Upon the boundless Plains, ' ' 

THIS WORK IS 

^ftectiauatelHgcdicatccX bijtlxe .l^uthov. 



H: 



PREFACE. 



" When at the first I took my pen in hand 

Thus for to write, I did not understand 

That I at all should make a little book 

In such a mode ; nay, I had undertook 

To make another, which, when almost done, 

Before I was aware, I this begun." — John Bunyan. 



!^HE following History of Henderson County has long been an- 
V-.y nounced as forthcoming, but interferences I could not control 
prevented. It was, indeed, commenced several years ago, but its 
prosecution has been frequently interrupted by other occupations and 
embarassments, of which it is, perhaps, out of place here to speak. I 
have been compelled to await the indifferences of people, and, with 
no one to assist me, have discovered for myself that the compiling of 
historical matter, in book form, is a task rather to be '^hunned than 
courted. The labors of this work have been of the sever tand most 
painful and patient character. Through the pity of some, the derision 
of many, the rebukes of others, and with the good wishes of a few, I 
have steadily pursued my course in quiet, to the goal of my ambition, 
and now return gratitude to God for what success has been achieved- 
With no guiding light or compass to direct my researches, I have 
plodded along through a multitude of books and papers, as best I 
could, in search of I knew not what. I have faced a listless auditory, 
and, by perseverance, have revived from the wreck of almost destroyed 
memories, matter that would soon have been lost to the world. 
Doubtless there are many incidents and many sketches of persons 
omitted ; but the fault is not with me. I have advised, I have plead, I 



PREFACE. 5 

have done all, and more, too, than I ought to have done, and yet failed. 
The work is now done, and I have endeavored to execute my task 
with candor and fidelity, av(^ding all false coloring and exaggeration. 
In preparing this work, that course best adapted to suit the age, has 
been pursued. The style of the work is not labored, but brief, plain 
and simple, as the purpose in writing it required. I hope it is neither 
barbarous nor ungrammatical, for, though I make no claim to 
elegance, I have endeavored to be correct, concise and intelligible. 
It has been my endeavor to present the series of events in a clear and 
artless form, rejecting whatever was deemed irrelevant, and dwelling 
chiefly upon those features most important. Considering the long 
period embraced, the multiplied number of characters and events 
delineated, the extent of the field covered, the preservation of 
historical unity has been no easy task. If any deficiences are found, 
they ought to be referred rather to the judgment than a willingness to 
spare myself the care and tedium requisite to avoid them. 

That ill-fed and wounded vanity, small envy, jealousy and self- 
inflated opinion may instigate hostility to the work, I expect, but to 
the people of Henderson and Henderson County, the work is 
submitted with a profound deference, and in the hope that it may 
meet with that indulgence accorded works whose destiny has been 
regarded with far less solicitude. In spite of all my efforts to the 
contrary, some typographical errors remain in the copy, but they are 
so obvious that anyone can correct them. 

I have gratefully to acknowledge the assistance of a number 
persons ; particularly, I must mention Colonel E. W. Worsham, Dr. 
P. Thompson, Robert A. Holloway, Walter S. Alves, Charles T. 
Starling, Thos. E. Ward, Larkin White, E. L. Starling, Jr., Ben 
Harrison, Hon. P. B. Matthews, Dr. H. H. Farmer, Thomas Soaper, 
John T. Ruby, Jacob F. Mayer, Geo. H. Steele, L. F. Wise, W. S. and 
C. H. Johnson, Geo. W. Smith, S. A. Young and Hawkins Hart. 

Respectfully, 

E. L. STARLING. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



^^ NOTED historian has said that truth comes to us from the past, 
j^ as gold is washed down the mountains of the Sierra Nevadas, 
in minute, but precious particles, intermixed with infinite alloy, the 
debris of centuries. Research teaches that where the suns of many 
decades have shone upon a spot where events transpired among a 
few hardy pioneers, who manifested no solicitude about handing their 
names and deeds down to an admiring posterity, it is a difficult task, 
indeed, to separate from the infinite alloy of narration and traditionary 
lore, the minute, but precious particles, which are the quintessence 
of true history in whatever guise or form it may be given the public. 
Most of the men and women of pristine days seem to have enter- 
tained the idea that events of those times were matters of temporary 
concern, brought about alone for the benefit and amusement of those 
who witnessed and enjoyed them, and not intended for those who 
were to follow after. Written evidence of old events, reminiscences 
of true merit, were not made, or, if made, were not preserved, only so 
far as actual requirements demanded at the time. Even in records of 
a public character, the official in charge deemed it incumbent upon 
himself to write down as few words as possible, and make one sentence 
supply the demands of three. There were many incidents, doubtless, 
in the early settlement of this part of Kentucky, which, had they been 
carefully preserved and handed down from parent to child, would 
to day be treasured as bits of history beyond pecuniary valuation. 
Blood curdling adventures of men and women, privations and suffer- 
ings of the early settlers, who gave their lives that we might enjoy the 
heritage, come to us patched up by traditionary handling until we 
scarcely know whether the story has been magnified or deteriorated in 
its value and truthfulness. 



INTRODUCTORY. 7 

How strange this is, and yet this generation has gone on and on 
for forty years with the same apparent unconcern. Valuable papers 
have been stored away in ^me secluded corner, where the light of 
day has not been permitted to peep in since the barrel or box was 
tightly closed. Rats and mice have nibbled away valuable matter, 
which, had it been assorted and compiled with a view to its material 
and interesting value, would have proved of invaluable interest to 
many now living, and truly interesting to all persons who love to revel 
with intelligent antiquarians in reminiscences of the forgotten past. 
Yes, many of these old papers, which should have been carefully pre 
served, or better committed on pages, which would have forever pre- 
cluded the possibility of their destruction, have not only been ne- 
glected, but actually cast out to be scattered by the winds to the four 
quarters of the compass. The fiery flames have consumed pages, 
whose ashes have become a part of the dust of the earth ; and, yet, if 
these ashes could speak, they could a tale unfold, whose telling would 
awaken in many a keen interest for a further research into history 
now blotted out forever. 

Old people who had a knowledge of incidents historical, and an 
education equal to the demand, have lived and died without e.ven so 
much as leaving a line whereby their knowledge might be made per- 
petual by some one more impressed with their historical value. 
Whether this can be, and is yet to be, attributed to a lack of interest, 
want of inclination, or whether the information has failed to make a 
deserved impression, is not for the wiiter to say. These negligences 
and ignorances, or whatever they may be called, meet the historian at 
everv turn of his work, and will have to be overcome as best thev can. 
Our readers will certainly exercise as much leniency as we have 
patience in the long, tedious and difficult research, a history of which 
follows. 



INDEX TO CONTENTS 



Abinadab's Letters 172 

Aboriginal 23 

Act Regulating Taxes 281 

Additions to To^v^l 304 

Amusements 77 

Annus Miribilis 131 

Arms, taken possession of 204 

Assessment, County and City, 1877 817 

Attorney, Commonwealth . . . .' 103 

" City Impeached. 310 

Audubon's Mill 148 

Banks 150,170 

" Payments 246 

" Charter Wanted 261 

" Commonwealth 263 

" Deposit 342 

" Farmers' . : 221, 224, 31 1, 325, 511 

" National. First 513 

" " Planters' 513 

Barbecue, Gen. Harrison 172 

" Madisonville 241 

Baptising 182 

Battle Year 210 

" New Orleans 142 

Bell, Station House 354 

Bible Society 488 

Billiard Tables 312 

Blacksmith, First 262 

Boat Building 284 

Bonds, City 336-.354 

Royle, (ieo. A. Ordered away 194 

Brass Band, Mechanics 316 

Bradley's Tavern 50 

Boom, 1st, 2d and 3d 150, 188, 312 

Boundary Ohio River 49 

Bridge, Commissioners 177 

" County 117, 121, 126, 186 

Ohio River 350, 370, 505 

Buildings, First 26 

" Old 139, 261, 262 

" Cor. First and Main 349 

Calaboose 298-307 

Capture Michael Sprinkle and others.. . 27 

Cemetery, Fernwood 184, 278, 297, 302 

" Old 278,293 

" Bodies Removed 328 

Census, County 249 

Tenth 201 

Charter, Amended 292, 313 

1854 301 

New 315 

1867 .329 

Cholera 116, 180, 306, 327 



Churches, Baptist, First 429 

■* " African 476 

" " Fourth Street, Col .. . 476 

" Early History 427 

" Catholic 472 

** Christian 433 

" Christadelphian 471 

Episcopal 341,463 

" Israelitish 474 

" German Evangelical 436 

" Methodist 439, 316 

" " African 474 

" " German 474 

" Old Union 282 

■' Presbyterian, First 327, 446 

*' " Second 443 

•' " Mission 462 

" " Sunday School. . 461 

" " Cumberland. 278, 297 

" Pleasant Hill 187 

" St. Barnabas 470 

" Sunday School, Prohibited 318 

Circus, Stickney's 170 

" Floating Palace 306 

Coal, Company 323 

" Mining 161 

" Plague 142 

" Scarcity of 242 

'' Tipple .342 

" Oil 186 

Cold Friday 123,213 

Cold Winter 159, 182 

Comet, Charles Fifth 188 

Compromise City, Alves & Hart 267 

" Alves and Ci ty 307 

•• BuckandCitv 266 

" City and Clark 312 

" City and Burbank 318 

" ■ City and Property Holders. 316 

Conscript 219 

Contrabanding 20!J 

Cordelling Boats 127 

Corn Crop, Ruined 188 

Cotton Grown 130 

Courts, County 100, 101, 102, 103 

Circuit 140 

" Common Pleas 242 

" Quarter Sessions 49 

Quarterly 248 

" Superior 252 

" Terms Changed 243 

*' Rules 125 

" Held in iBaptist'Church.'.'.V.'.*.'.".'.* 79 

Court House, First 50 

Second 74 



INDEX TO CONTENTS. 



Court House, Third 78 

" " How Received 53 

. ■ '• " Soldiers Occupy 83 

" " IMutilation of 83, 235 

Bebuilt r... 84 

*' " Dance Hall 80 

" " Use Prohibited 81 

" " Square 70,107 

County. Kentucky Formed 18 

" " Divided 21 

" Henderson Formed 22 

•' " Organized 48 

" Hopkins Formed 123 

" Union Formed 22 

" Webster Formed 22 

County OflScials 822 

Council, City 302 

" Forced to Resign 323 

" War Order 306 

" New Hall 223, 241, 243 

Creeks, Obstruction of 249 

Crops Destroyed 248 

Crops, Large 187 

Currency, Bogus 147 

Cut, Money 138 

Debt, City Funded 355-356 

Deadened Timber 250 

Dedicatory 3 

Districts, Appellate 182, 243 

" Congressional. i59, 168, 174, 210,246, 252 

" Election 181 

" Judicial 175, 186,256 

" School 159, 166 

" Senatorial... .123, 137, 169. 176, 242, 248 

" Working Road 295 

Distilling 342 

Ditches 275 

Divorce 138 

Draft, Military 212 

Drouth 817 

Duval, Stephen, Whipped 328 

Early Settlers ..17, 26, 27 

Earthquakes 180 

Eastin Survey 299. .301 

Eclipse, Sun 186, 341 

Educational 409 

" Early History 409 

" Catholic 425 

'• Female Seminary 424 

" First School 96 

For Boys 425 

" German School 3.34 

" High School 421 

" ' Home School, for Girls",.. 425 

" Colored School 425 

" Public School 422 

" Schoolchildren 344,351,354 

" Seminary, " Old " 413 

Election, County 218 

" For Mayor 301 

" Interfered With 212 

" Special .323 

" Soldier's Appear 235 

•' Primitive 108-109 

•' Town Trustees 262, 283, 288 

Emancipation, Slaves 94 

Employes R. R. Arrested 344 

Epizootic 349 

Explosion. Steamboat 238 

" Saw Mill 219 

Fair Company 187, 241 

Farm, Values 250 

Fashion, foolish 189 

Fees, cheap 117 

Fence Company, " Horse Shoe" 243 

«.»' Walnut Bend " 248 



Ferries 259 

" Mouth Green River 119 

" Henderson 119 

" Steam 311 

Fevers I6O 

" Yellow, &c — 369 

Fire Companies 294, 350. 351, 354, 370 

Flag of Truce 219 

Fort, "Nigger" 333 

Foster, Col, John W 210 

" Take Charge 210 

War order 306 

" and City Council 321 

" Council Resigned 323 

" Negro Order 211 

France Congratulated 296 

Freedman's Bureau 238 

Friday's ,188 

Frontispiece 

Fruit, Killed I8I 

Gas Works 313, 324, 330, 333 

Gas, price reduced 370 

Glass Works 276 

Gold Excitement 176 

Green, Marshall & Co 327 

Green River 124, 131, 135, 156, 244 

Guerrillas 214, 225 

KillJim Pool 215 

" In Hebardsville 216 

" In City 215 

Rob Esq. McCallister 216 

•' Gunboats appear 213 

" Stores closed 2I6 

Habeas Corpus 125 

Hancock House 213. 228, 284, 311 

Hard times 162, 261 

Hard cases 105, 122 

Hardscrabble Addition 304 

Harpes. Big and Little 104,623 

Harris, Wra. killed 317 

Hawkin's, shot 225 

Henderson, City of 253 

" Col. Rich, purchase 18, 19 

" Grant taken in 126 

" Laid off 255 

" Incorporated 260 

Health Reputation 169 

High Water 138, 167, 176,209, 248 

Hogs and Town pump 291 

Horse Disease 349, 350 

Hospital, City 296, 350 

Hotel, Spidel 284, 287 

Hot Weather 315 

Hughes & Hovey's Raid 22 

Hurricane 138, 248,311, 316 

Ice House, Public 316, 343 

Insurance I86 

Introductory 6 

Ionian Society 3(V4 

Island, Green River 247 

Island, Tow Head 170 

Jails 65-76 

" Broken 239 

" Mobbed 334 

Killed by Wolves 138 

Knights Templars .369, 491 

Knights Pvthias 369, 499 

Know Nothing Party 184 

Ku-Klux 334-338 

Labor meeting 236 

Land Dispute, City and County 190 

" Located 118,121,123 

" Pirates 280 

'• Laws(1799) 20 



10 



INDEX TO CONTENTS. 



Land Troubles 37 

'• Vacant 58 

" Valueless 99 

Ladies' Complimented 325 

Law, Stock 252 

Lawyers Licensed 94, 12o 

Levy, County 94 

Lien Law, Mechanics 180, 242 

Liquor Selling 116 

Mail. Daily 188, 328 

Manufactories and other Enterprises- 
Banks, Farmers' 511 

" National. Fi rst 513 

Planters 513 

Blacksmithing 519 

Brickmaking and Tile 522 

Bridge, Ohio River 505 

Brewery 518 

Brooms' and Mattresses 519 

Building and Loan Association 520 

Buggies and Carriages 519 

Coal and Mining Co 510 

Same Ice Co 510 

Coal Mines, &c 520-521 

Coal Agents 520 

Coal, St. Bernard Mines 521 

Coal, Ohio Valley 521 

County Roads. . .". 522 

Cotton Mills 509 

Distilling, Hill & AVinstead 517 

Witliers, Dade & Co 518 

Worsham, E. W. & Co 517 

Fair Company .• 522 

Flour and Grist Mills 519 

Foundrv ana Machine Shops 519 

Gas Works 507 

Hotels 522 

Hominy Mills 518 

Incorporated Companies 522 

Lands, Productive 522 

Railroads 514 

Ohio Valley 514 

" Louisville & Henderson 821 

Peoples Homestead and Saving Co 520 

Planing Mill 521 

River Facilities 515 

Saw Mills 527 

Telegraph & Telephone 515 

Tobacco Manufactories 516 

Tobacco Stemmeries 515 

Water Work^^ 502 

Woolen Mills 507 

Marriages, Pioneer 99 

Marshal Town, Impeached 303 

Mayor Atkinson. Message .352 

*'" English. Message 360 

" Held, Message 350 

Starhng. Message 335, 352 

Resigned 303 

Manufacturers Tax 349 

Measurement, Higli Water 818 

Medical Society, State 351 

Meteoric Showers 168 

Mill Burned, Hatchets 226 



Mill Torn down 313 

Mill, Audubon, John J 148 

Mills 97,107, 122 

Milk Sickness 166 

Ililitary. Arms stolen 203 

" Cavalry and Refugees 206 

" Corydon Raid 215 

" Ham G. Williams, arrested 227 

" Henderson Guards 315, 319 

" *' Occupied 208, 210 

Militia 161 

Murray, Gen. E. H 231 

Negro Troops 213. 217, 221 , 224 

" Ohio River taken possession of .. 209 

" Piper Boys, killed 227 

" Police employed 229 

" Soldier, hung at Geneva 225 

Soldiers, (1812) 260 

" S])ottsville taken 221 

'* State Guards 202 

" Troops to Spottsville 203 

Mining Coal Co 368 

McClain's Land Sale 243, 246 

Mob, First 116 

Money, Cut 138 

Monument, L. W. Powell 244 

Mounds 25 

Mound Builders 24 

Mozart Society 820 

Mule and Cart 326 

Musical 820 

Murder, Chas. E. Carr 156 

Murders 819 

Naturalization 156 

Negroes, Emancipated 171. 237 

" Bought and Sold 195, 196 

" Runaway 174 

" Preaching 294, 296 

Traders 195 

Vote 245 

Newspapers 172 

" Columbian 279 

News 214, 216, 219, 234, 242, 821 

Reporter 199,201. 218,822 

" Journal 821 

Nicaragua Expedition 184 

Night Walkers 295 

Odd Fellows 294, 298 

Officials, County 88-289. 822 

Officials, City 370,821 

Offices Consolidated 297 

Opera, "Coopers 315 

Ordinances, Transylvania 255 

" Penal 280 

Printed 292, 342 

Outlaws 26 

Outlaws ana Captain Young 31 

Outlawed 137 

Panic, Jay Cook 351 

Paragon Morgan, died 191 

Paupers, City.. 185, 304 

Pa>iie, Sterling, killed 328 

Petroleum Company 229, 238 

Penitentiary 142 

Pioneer Trials 29 

Physicians, Pioneer 98, 166 

Poor House 184 

Post Office 191-192 

Ponds 279, 283, 286, 306 

Pork House, Inirned 311 

Post Masters 819 

Powder. Bought and Sold 318-319 

Powell, Richard, killed 341 

Precincts, County Divided 157 

Cairo 377 

'♦ Corydon 379 



INDEX TO CONTENTS. 



11 



Precincts, Geneva 382 

" Hebardsville 383 

'• Henderson 245, 253 

•' Niagara 406 

" Robards •* . . 389 

" Scuffletown . . . .- 166, 396 

" Smith's Mills 401 

" Spottsville 403 

Tillotston's 406 

Walnut Bottom 168 

" Voting places 110 

Preface 

Press Convention 351 

Prisoners Escape 246 

Prisoners Rebel 217 

Proclamation, Mayor 223, 339 

•' Lt. Commander Fitch 214 

Public Square . . . .263, 274, 291 , 297, 310, 325, 334 
Pullty te 304 

Racing Horses 289 

Ravnies 275.286,287, 288,305 

Record Lost 95 

Red Ribbon, orcanized 356 

Relief Board, Southern 242 

Revenue, U. S 243 

Revival, (1794) 34 

River Frozen 137,175, 185, 186, 188 

Roads, Gravel— 

" ( 'ounty to issue Bonds 252 

" Henderson and Cair.) 252 

" *' and Corydon 251 

" " and Zioii 251 

" Public 168, 169,172 

" Clear Creek 56 

" Corydon 58 

" Diamond Island 58 

*' Divided into Precincts 249 

*' Evansville 57 

" Established .54 

" Floyd & Lockett 61-62 

" Knoblick 58 

•' Morganfleld 58 

" Nuisance 63 

" Owensboro and Henderson 183 

" Plank 183 

" Smith's Ferry .54 

" Spottsville..*. 57 

" State 59 

" " To Hopkinsville 60 

" Surveyors 63, 107 

" Tax.... : 245,247 

Railroad 167 

Employes Arrested 344 

'• Evansville & Jackson 247 

" Evansville, Henderson & Nash- 
ville 330. 342, .348 

" Henders(m & Hartford 244 

" Evansville, Henderson & Nash- 
ville 269, 1.39. 300. 302. 308, 314, 316 

" Henderson & Paducah 184 

" Louisville & Henderson 821 

" Right of way. Fourth st 348 

" St. Louis & ^Southeastern 241. 344 

" Same Consolidated 348 

Southern Ky. Narrow Guage 344 

" Street Railway 821 

River Improvement 285 

River Front 294 

Running Association 244 

Salt Discovered 30 

Salt Well 308 

Saw Mill 307, 311 

Sal • ri s 29o 

Seminary. Female 370 

SemniPS Admir? '. 834 

Sheep Dogs 249 

Sheriffalty, Farming out 120 



Shooting. John N. Wathen 230 

Side Walks 298 

Sinking Fund. Commissioners 337 

Sketches and Recollections 523 

Assassination Dr. W. A. Norwood 558 

Dog Supper 567 

Harpe Tragedy 523 

Hanging of Cafr 535 

Henderson & Evansville Packet Co 531 

Louisville & Henderson Packet Co .530 

Military and Quizzicals 561 

Shooting Ben O'Neal. &c 544 

James E. Rankin 547 

Powell and Thompson 549 

Tom Forrest and Comrades 541 

Sinking Steamboat. Maj. Barbour 532 

Belinont... 531 

Suicide of Reuben Denton 532 

" of J. Elmus Denton 72 

" of Misses Mintner 532 

of C\Tithia Majors 533 

of Dr. A. J. Morrison 533 

Skating. Roller 543 

Skirmish. King's Mills 232 

Slander Suit 156 

Slaves 99 279. 289. 290 

Small Pox 287 293 294 

Snow Storm 245 

Social Pastimes 53 

Societies Secret- 
Good Templars 501 

Grand Army Republic 501 

Harugari 501 

Iron Hall 501 

Knights of Honor 501 

' of Pythias 499 

Templars 491 

•' of Labor 501 

Masonic, Blue Lodge — 481 

" Chapter 488 

Commandery : 491 

Odd Fellows 249. 294, 494 

Encampment 498 

r.olored Lodge .502 

Soldiers Revolution 162 

Steamboats 119 136. 141, 149,167 170- 

243 310 350 

Stemmery Burned 327 

Streets opened and Improved. ..260 283 - 
290 295 299 300. .307. 308. 310. 314. 316.- 
.....317 320. .324. 326 328 333 334 337.342, 354 

Supervisors of Tax 364 

Supervisors Report Rejected 364 

Surrender. Confederates 2.33 

Swearing, Profane 105 

Taverns Bradley's 50 257 

Rates Established 92, 162 

Taxes 106, 153, 249, 251, 252. 278, 286 

Telegraph. Cable : 187, 243 

Theatricals 29, 311. 315 

Thespian Society .312 

Tobacco as Currency Ill 

Interest 114 341 

' Inspection 112, 113 

ShortCrop 2.34 

Stemmeries 149 291 

Town Pump and Hogs 291 

Towns Establi.'^hed 157, 169. 171 

Trees Planted 361 



12 



INDEX TO CONTENTS, 



Warehouses, Established 120. 160 

•' Inspection 124 

War Mexico 175 

War. Confederate. .193, 197 201, 234, 237 - 

_ gjy Q|g 

Water Works !...!...!...!. .354! 502 

Water. High 818 

Wathen. John N. murdered 231 

Wards City Divided 301 I 



Weeds Cut down 292 

Well, Town filled up 313 

Wharf ...279 280, 285, 293. 296 298. 299. 300.- 

303 313. 327, 329, 336 

Whipping Slaves 279, 290 

Wolves : i88 

Vaccination. Compulsory 349 



-.oe>§^ 




General Index- 



Abbott, William 172 

Adams, George .'."*" . ' 

Adams, Joseph .247, 323 

Agnew, Smith 

Agnew. R. W 

Allen, William 

Allen. J. C *.V.V 216, 

Allen Captain Sam 227* 

Alien. Rev. Wm. G 

Alexander Mark 

Alves, Walter 146 

Alves, James ". . 169, 266," 288! 

Alves, R. H 

Alves, S. J 

Alves, G M V..;344V35i; 502, 

Alves, Wm. J 

Alves Bobt.H....: ... .." 

Allison, Will. D.. 78 82, 278, 283'235V288.- 

299 316 

Allison Young E . . 69.' TO. 82," 84," 190, 213 - 

^ ,V V • •;, 227, 301, 302, 

Allison Sam'l 175 

Anderson, John D 78,'l69, 286! 

Anderson A. J 186 

Artis, C. F 191* 

Anthony Jonathan . . .".'.'.".'.".' ". '66 119' 

Anthony, Jas. W ■ ". 

Atkinson, George 169, 283 29l,'299 

Atknison. Hon. John C 202. 352, 

Atkinson, Edward 500 

Audubon, John J. ...123, 148, i59, 259, 261,' 

Bach, Prof. J. M 756 

Bacon, James 79 

Baily . Cornelius 71 373 423 

Ball Hon. C.C ." ":. '..i, 3?2 

Banks, David 214, 217, 223, 232, 243, 323 

Banks, David, Jr 513 

Barbour, Ambrose 68, 74," 105, 108 

Barbour, Philip 74,120 127 

Barbour, Hal 191 

Barbour, James 260 

Barret, Alex. B....150, 161, 183, 195,'86.V 

....... -...;. 291,292,293 

Barret, John H 236, 331, 766 

Barret, John H. Jr 304, 341 

Barret, James R 304 341 

Barret, Wm. T ' 3IJ 

Barnard, N. H 348 

Barnett, Jacob ' .' 66 114 

Basket, Jesse ' 71 

Bftum, B .".".V.".'.V.*.".'.'.".".*.".".*.".'.".* 216 



351 

108 
650 
169 
783 
137 
323 
228 
243 
99 
266 
801 
229 
236 
506 
266 
307 

613 

818 
568 
776 
330 
802 
259 
311 
612 
356 
512 
793 



Beatty, Gawin I 

Bell, James 

Bell, George E 

Bennett, Wm. E .' ". 190' 

Bennett, Jake "" ' 

Bennett, Judge C '. ',.' 218 

Beverley, Robt. G 2U,'29G, 305,' 

Beverly, Wm. P » . . 

Bierschenk, William 

Blbo, Barnard 

Black well, P. A 70, 323', "342,' 

Blackwell, W. W 359 

Blackburn, Wm. B 

Borum. Joseph •.!.' 

Bowen, Wm. R 

Bowling Family 

Boyle, Gen. J. T 209' 

Bradshaw, Robt. A ' 

Bratton^ Andrew 

Brewster, Dr. Wm ^(^"i' 

Broadnax, Judge Henry P 120, 122' 

Brashear. Barak 67 70 83 

Bristow, Gen. B. H ' ' 

Brown, Hon. Jno. Y 234*236 

Bryce, P. B ' 

Bunch, Hon. Jno. T..*.,', *. 82 

Buck, Charles ' 

Bullitt Family 

Burbank, D R 29i , SOS," sii", "341, 

Butler, Harbison , lee, 

Cabell Family 675 

Cabell, Dr. William 575 

Cabell, Robt 323 

Callender, A. T 724 

Carr. Charles E ;. . ;;;;;.i56; 536 

Catlm, W. W 199 

Cheaney, Josephus '."is9 304 

Cheaney, Thomas F 237 

Cheatham. Edward \aa 

Churchill, W. P ^ 

cisseii Ben.p '...'.'. ::.':::. 236, 334 

Clark. Robert 299 

Clark, David '. .' 351 

Clay, James W V. 30l", '303, 316 

Clay, James F 304, 348, 798 

Clore,Joseph 521 758 

Clore, W. H '758 

Clore, L, F 758 

Clore, J. O '....'..". ".". '.'.'.' '356, "ess. 758 

Coleman, Robert 108 

Collins & O 'Byrne ". 333' 338 



202 

76 
688 
722 
225 
,242 
323 
814 
330 
224 
664 
778 
103 
103 

68 
576 
330 
815 
116 
307 
130 
301 
206 
243 
330 
198 
264 
576 
804 
172 



14 



GENERAL INDEX. 



260 

369 

71 

82 

95 

286 

323 

329 

316 

296 

342 

667 



Comfort, Rev. Daniel 

Cook, Dr. Jno. L 

Cooper, Win. T 

Cottingham, Ishain 

Courteis, Vienginand 

Cowan, Joseph 

Cromwell, F. B 

Crosby, F. H 

Crockett, John W.. .83. 190, 198, 236. 238, 

Cunningham, F 236, 

Cnnningam, 11. H 

Cumnock. W. W 

Dallam, F. H 83, 191, 198, 236, 328, 792 

Dallam, L. C 356 

Danforth. L. F 301 

Danforth, L W 302 

Davies, Rev. D. O 720 

Davis. Chas 9i 

Deacon, Rev. D. H 417, 467, 597 

Delano, Ira 19S 

Denton. J. Elmns <2 

uezarno. John Baptist 131 

Dickens, Charles 174 

Digman.R. H 343. 761 

Dixon, Gov. Archibald... 176. 181, 191, 198,- 

200, 204, 217, 236, 3.34, 348, 575 

DixonV Payne 139, 145, 172 

Dixon, Hon. H. C 588 

Dixon, Dr. Archibald 588 

Dixon, Joe C 229, 590 

Dixon, Capt. Hal : 608 

Dixon, Robert 341, 343. 6 

Dixon, Robert, Jr 679 

Dixon, Geo. L 222 

Dixon, Wynn G 725 

Dodd, J. M 211 

Dorsey,Dr.J. N 7*7 

Dunn, Capt. John 27,95,96,255 

Dunn. Mrs. Hannah 97,107,254 

Dunn', Isaac . . 93 

Duncan, Marion 675 

Duncan, Capt. Joe A 800 

Fades, C.C 84. 85 

Eakin's Family 680 

Eakins, Felix 681 

EaKins, William 684 

Eastin, Henry J 183 

Eas tin, Robert 306 

Eastin, R. Scroggin 753 

Eaves, Charles 347 

Eiam,W.S 191,202,243,341 

Elam, Sam'l 205 

Evans, Rev. Thomas 289 

Fallen George W. 343 

Farmer, Dr. H. H 781 

Featherston, Win 122 

Figis, Konrad 95 

Fisher, Meridith 120, 124 

Fisher, W. P 202 

Fisher, Renz 391 

Fletcher, Thomas 116 

Foard, M. D «. 176 

Foster, Col. John W 210, 213, 320 

Fowler, Judge W. P 218 

Fulwiler, Jacob H 301 

Funk, John 183, 241 

Gayle, George 169 

Gay le , Isaac 292 

Geibel. Konrad 691 

Geibel, John 693 

Gilmour, Allan..., 341 

Gibson, B. F...^t|7. .^I.. 185 

Givens, C . C 671 

Glass, Dr. Owen 283, 315 

Glass, Robt. T 199, 202, 235, 236, 243, 244 



Glenn,Col. Jno 227, 230 

Gobin, Joe. D 293, 296 

Grady, Sam'l William 725 

Grant, J' seph 316 

Graves J ames 149 

Grayson, Wm. P 172, 195, a§8- '^'^'B 

Green, Grant.. .190, 191, 222, 224, 243, 326,- 

327, 333, 606, 610 

Green John 286 

Grimes, Stephen E 156, 535 

Gwatkin, Elizabeth D 171 

Haflev, John 329, 335. 338, 354 

Hall, E. G 202. 316, 321 

Hainmill, Francis 68 

Hamilton, Jas. M 74, 259, 262 

Hamilton Robert 94 

Hanna, Dr. Wm 653 

Hancock. M. S 185, 186, 284, 287 

Ha nes. Big and Little 523 

Harrison, Ben... 232,234,342, 348 

Hart, Richard J 266 

Hart, David - 176 

Ha ' t Family 575 

Hatchitt. James D 183, 216, 236 

Hatchitt, William 412 

Hatchitt. Rev. A 737 

Hazelwood, E. T 82, 190 

Haussman, John 27, 50, 94 

Held , Hon. Jacob 243, 323, 303, 805 

Henderson, Richard 99^788 -' 

Henderson, Archibald 99 

Henderson , Old Dick 819 

Herndon, David 176 

Herndon, Thos. H 279 

Hicks, Wm. S 184, 190, 218 

Hicks, 8. S 205 

Hillyer, James 563 

Hillyer, P. H 186, 263, 283, 299, 323 

Hodge, Dr. J. A 224,225, 721 

Hodge, Thomas 516 

Hoffman, P.... 334 

Holloway, John 68, 114 

Holloway, John G 78,183,186,309, 740 

Holloway. Jas. H 202, 207, 229. 742 

Holloway, John (i. Jr... 210 

Holloway, W. S.... 216, 232, 243, 261,311, 323 

Holloway, Geoije 254 

Hopkins, Saml 45, 51,65, 76, 259, 260 V 

Hopkins. Saml. Jr 74 

Hopkins, Edm'dH.78, 79, 117,285,286,292, 297 

Hopkins, F 229 

Hopkins, W. A 229,247, 330 

Hopkins, Gen, Sam'l.. 99, 103, 106,114,119, 796 

Husbands, John 29, 49, 51, 65, 94, 106, 107 

Husbands, Polly 106. 281 

Husbands, John, Jr 108 

Hutchen, C. W 70, 84, 198, 219 

Ingram, Wiatt 169, 261, 283, 284, 297, 677 

Ingram, Mrs. Jane 308 

Jenkins, T. M 333, 348 

Jenkins, Dr. Anion 808 

Johnson, Charles W 791 

Johnson, Isoni 71, 184, 236 

Johnson, J. M 71 

Johnson, Elliott 

Johnson, Gen. Adam R 218, 713 

Johnson, Wm. S 202, 304, 348 

Johnson, Col. Sam 234, 235 

Johnson, Dr. Thos. J 166 

Johnson, C. H 657 

Johnson, Jas. H 330 

Johnson, Pirant P 754 

Johnston, Eugene 811 

Johnston, Joe. B 807, 811 

Johnston , Philip Ludson 810 

Jones, Fielding 124 

Jones, Dr. Levi 278 



GENERAL INDEX. 



15 



Keach, Richard 84 

Kennedy, A. F 363 

Kerr, Henry 218 

Kerr, Hugh 291 

King, Sam'lE 735 

King, Geo. W ^72 

King, John 260 

King, P.H -. 348 

Kitchen, Dr. N. A 670 

Kleiderer, Fred 356, 695 

Knightj Tlios. S 330 

Knox, Hugh 96, 97, 103, 114, 122, 123, 166 

Kreipke, Fred 356 

Kriss, J. J 83 

Kossuth, Louis 182 

Kuykendall, John 27 

Kuylcendall, Abner 116 

Kuykendall, Amos 116 

Kyie, Peter 727 

Labrey,Wm. E 726 

Ladd, W. H ...323 

Lame, Jesse 85 

Lambert, Joel.. 122, 143, 223, 281, 283, 297, 797 

Lambert, John H 69,298, 301 

Lambert, W.E 190 

Langley, Sam'l W 296 

Landers, Abraham 65, los 

Lancaster, Wm. L 202 

Lewis, W. H 3f.5 

Lewis, H. E 660 

Leslie, A. T 334 

Letcher, Dr. Ben 221 

Lockett,W. M 24i 

Lockett, P. H 70, 8i 

Lockett, Judge J. F 68". 

Lockett , D. P 17() 

Lyne, Jas. B 70, 229 

Lyne, H. James 107, 278 

Lyne, Leonard 162, lej 

Lyne, James, Jr 176 

Lyne, L. H 202, 222, 247, 356, 443. 512 

Lyne, George 640 

Lyne, Henry 301, 511 

Lyne,W. S 640 

Manion, Edward 690 

Marrs, Paul J 233, 64G 

Marshall, W. J 632 

Martin, Leroy 337 

MariinB. F 82, 736 

May, Samuel 21, 26 

Mayer, V. M 205. 501, 807 

Mayer, G. A 275, 806 

Mayer, J. F 422, 505, 807 

Mathews, Hon. P. B 35, 323,329, 372. 655 

McBee, Squire 116 

McBride, Capt. Ed 70, 262, 298 

McBride, Daniel 74 

McCormick, Jno. S 241 

McCullogh, John 173, 412 

McClain, Jas. A .. 212 

McClain, Jackson 71, 813 

McClain, James 166 

McCallister, Aeneas.... 27, 30, 49, 51, 106, 133 

McCaUister, JohnE 215, 334, 356, 617 

McClure, George W 730 

McFarland, Thomas 385 

McLean, Alney 159 

McGary, Robert 116 

McGary, William 116 

McGary, Hugh, Jr 116 

McGary, Hugh 1 16 

McGready, Rev. James 34, 105 

McMullin, John 169 

Merritt, Hon. M 656 

Mitchuson, Ning 694 

Mitchuson, Charles 695 

Morris, George 281 

Morrison, Dr. A. J 315, 533 



Moss, Hugh .' 190 

Mullin , Joshua 173, 287 

Murrell, Jno. A 26 

Murray, Gen. Eli H 231 

Nesler, Solomon 116, 301, 303 

Newman, Jacob 94 

Norris, John S 205 

Norwood, Dr. W. A 558 

O'Byrn, John 348, 363, 739 

Orr, Samuel 277 

0-good,Rev. Nathan 166 

Outlawry 818 

Owen, Hon. J. V... I 739 

Parker, A. F 71 

Pennell,C. M 212, 279, 297, 316 

Perkins, Capt. C. G 216,218,219,247, 749 

Pernet , John 350 

Peter, Hon. Jacob 755 

Pierman , G. L 199 

Pitcairne, Huirh 345 

Point, J. B ...166 

Posey, Gen. Thomas 648 

Posey. Fayette 68 

Powell, James 78 

Powell, Gov. L. W..82, 172, 181, 186, 204,- 

244,290,297, 591 

Powell, Dr. J. N 730 

Powell, Herbert A 190 

Powell, Col. E. D 763 

Powell, J. Henry 304, 765 

Porter, J. W 782 

Prentice, Geo. D 188 

Priest G. M...184, 186, 222,236.240,244,- 

247, 301,330, 333, 342 

Priest, W. C ... 216 

Priest, J. A 71 

Pritchett, Green W 71, 780 

Purviance, Henry 99 

Racing Horses 130 

Ratinsque, Constantine S 156 

Rankin, Dr. Adam.. 26, 66, 114, 117, 120,- 

146, 259, 789 

Rankin, William. 78, 297 

Rankin, Adam , 84 

Rankm, Sam. W 202 

Rankin, James E 216, 219,288, 301, 547 

Reutlinger Wm 337, 3.^ 

Reeve, Mai. Jno. J 654 

Rice, J. Willy 274 

Ricketts, James E 176 

Rice, Dai» (clown) 274 

Robaids, J. D 759 

Robertson, Edmund 183 

Robinson, Jesse 222 

Ross, Moses 300 

Rouse, R.G.Jr 310 

Rouse, H.E 332 

Rouse, James 79, 169, 280, 286, 298, 301 

Ro wdin , A. J 202 

Rowan, Andrew .- 49, 106, 107 

Royster, Wilkins N 737 

Royster,C. S 71,84, 186 

Ruby,J.r 687 

Rucker, M. P 793 

Rudy John 241 

Rudy. C. A 224 

Ruggles, N. F 278, 282 

Sandefur, C. T 222 

Sandefur, W. H 323, 356 

Sandefur, W. A XiO 

Schlesinger, H 216 

Schlamp, Martin 356 

Sechtig, Chris 221 

Semonin, Peter 186, 323 

Semonin, Paul F 310 



16 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Shelby, Moses 96 

Shelby, William W 71, 84, 733 

Shingler, Jack 201, 296 

Shackelford, Gen, J. M 306 

Shook, Major 213 

Simpson, Robert 96 

Smith, Col. Robert 143, 260, 672 

Smith, A. L 412 

Sneed,S.K 304, 356 

Soaper, William 299. 770 

Soaper, Richard H 771 

Soaper, Thomas 334, a51, 773 

Soaper, William, Jr 774 

Soaper, Harry 775 

Soaper, Robert 771 

Spalding, Sam. P 186 

Spidel, John 263, 287 

Sprinkle. Michael 27, 259, 313 

Sprinkle, Jacob 27, 124 

Sprinkle John 66 

Staples, J. G 757 

Stapp, Jno. C 316,330, 342 

Standley, John 66, 139 

Starling, Edmund L 243, 287, 636 

Starling, Chas. T 202, 303, 640 

Starling, E. L....202, 203,204, 247, 337 ,341, 351 

Starling, E. L. Jr 643 

Starling, Stewart 644 

Starling, Lyne 640 

Steele, Wm 229, 238 

Steele, Cjtus 210 

Steele, George 356 

Steele, Capt. O. B 210, 225, 228,* 332, 703 

Stegall, Moses 512 

Stites, Sam'l 276,278,297, 801 

Stewart, Thos. J 643 

Stites, Richard 372 

Stewart, John H 799 

Stone James M 71. 184 

Sublett, John A 278 

Sugg, Calvin 282 

Sugg, Willie 79. 183 

Swigert, Jacob 641 

Talbott, A. H 310, 334,372. 422 

Talbott, Edmund 50 

Taylor, Brookin • . . 107 

Taylor, Maj. Walker 216, 227 

Taylor L. D 287 

Taylor, Jas. M /: 327 

Taylor, James (Two Horse) 297 

Taylor, Col. Chas. M 786 

Terry, N. D 189 

Tillotson, James 192 

Thespians Theatrical 312 



Tliompson, Dr. P , 334, 361.718 

Thornberry, R. R 184 

lowles, Thos. Jr 288 

Towles, Judge Thomas,.. 78, 120,147,261,- 

266, 287, 781 

Tramp, First 131 

Trafton, L. W 191, 204,304, 380, 751 

Toy, J. F 71,80, 84 

Tunstall, H. R 326, 371 

Turner, Hiram 71 

Turner, Hon. H. F. . . .83, 84, 85, 230, 236, . 

241, 330, 348, 732 

Unselt, David H 301 

Upp, John 27, 206 

Urso, Camille 311 

VanBussum, Philip 80, 384 

Vance, S. B... 198,236, 345 

Vandzandt, W. B 298, 299. 305 

Walden, D. N 184,190, 219 

Walker. F.E 70,84, 85 

Walker, Thos. G 122 

Walker, Cora 818 

Ward,Thos.E 784 

Ward, Judge E. C 412,374, 668 

Wathen, John N 230 

Watson, Thos. P 219 

Weaver, Littleberry 80 

Webster, W.H 675 

Williams, Jenks W 223, 3:«, 334, 809 

White, Larkiu 79, 738 

White, John L 205 

White, George 205 

Wigal, James P 789 

Wilhams, John 99 

Wise, D. F 723 

Woodruff, W. B 217, 342, 343 

Worsham, E. W 247, 301, 330. 342, 623 

Worsham, Andrew J 626 

Worsham, Ludson 628 

Worsham, D. W\ C 630 

Worsham, William 631 

Wright, Captain 232 

Woodbridge, Rev. Jahleel 598 

Yarber, Lieutenant 213 

Yates, Capt. Dick 215, 219 

Yeaman, Harvy 198, 202, 236, 247, 347 

Yeaman, Malcolm 349, 356, 644 

Young, Judge Milton 210 

Young, S. A 3 

Young, Milton 697 



HISTORY 



OP 



HENDERSON 



AND 



HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



CHAPTER I. 



EARLY EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS. 

©R. COLLINS says the first white person history tells of having 
discovered the Ohio River as low down as Henderson, was Col- 
onel George Croghan, who, in 1765, passed down the Ohio to the 
mouth of the Wabash. Captain Harry Gordan, in 1776, surveyed in 
some crude way the entire length of the Ohio. The land warrants or 
bounty in lands given to the Virginia soldiers, who had served in the 
old French War, were to be located on the " Western Waters," hence 
the military survey so often referred to in title deeds recorded in the 
Henderson County Clerk's Office. 

In the summer of 1774 parties of surveyors led by Colonel John 
Floyd, Hancock Taylor, James Douglas, and two parties of hunters 
and explorers under Captain James Harrod and Isaac Hite, came into 
Kentucky. The town of Harrodstown (now Harrodsburg) was laid off, 
and the settlement of Kentucky began. On Thursday, June 16, 1774, 
Daniel Boone, himself being present and assisting, four or five log 
cabins were built, and immediately and permanently occupied. 

2 



18 • HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

COLONEL RICHARD HENDERSON'S PURCHASE. 

On March 17, 1775, Colonel Richard Henderson (for whom this 
county and city were called) and others, purchased from the Cherokee 
Indians the whole of that territory lying between the Cumberland 
and Kentucky Rivers, amounting to over 17,000,000 acres of land, 
upon which it was evidently his purpose to found a little empire of 
his own; but his object was frustrated by an act of the Virginia Legis- 
lature, which made void the purchase, claiming the sole right to pur- 
chase land from the Indians within the bounds of the Royal Charter. 
The great activity displayed by Colonel Henderson and his co-operators 
in taking possession of the Cherokee Purchase and granting land to 
new settlers, was — as we shall soon see — all set at naught. Daniel 
Boone was employed by Colonel Henderson to survey the country and 
select favorable positions, and early in the spring of 1775 the founda- 
tion of Boonesborough was laid under the title name of Henderson. 

The present State of Kentucky was, prior to December 31, 1776, 
a part of the County of Fincastle, State of Virginia. By an act of the 
Virginia Legislature, from and after that day Fincastle County was 
divided into three counties, Kentucky County being one of the three. 
Kentucky having thus been formed into a separate county, she there- 
fore became entitled to a separate County Court, two Justices of the 
Peace, a Sheriff, Constable, Coroner and militia officers. Law, with 
its imposing paraphernalia, for the first time reared its head in the 
forests of Kentucky. 

In the spring of 1777 the Court of Quarter Sessions held its 
first sitting at Harrodsburg, attended by the Sheriff of the county and 
its clerk, Levi Todd. The first court of Kentucky was composed of John 
Todd, John Floyd, Benjamin Logan, John Bowman and Richard Cal^ 
loway. They had hardly adjourned when the infant Republic was 
rocked to its center by an Indian invasion. The hunters and survey, 
ors were driven in from the woods and compelled to take refuge within 
the forts. Much injury was done, but the forts withstood their utmost 
efforts; and, after sweeping through Kentucky like a torrent for 
several weeks, the savages slowly retreated back to the North, leaving 
the agitated settlers to repair their loss as best they could. 
Virginia's grant to colonel henderson. 
On Wednesday, November 4, 1778, the Virginia House of Dele- 
gates — 

Resolved^ "That all purchases of lands made or to be made of the Indians 
within the chartered bounds of this Commonwealth, as described by the con- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 19 

stitution or form of Government, by any private persons not authorized by pub- 
lic authority, are void. 

Resolved, " That the purchase heretofore made by Colonel Henderson & 
Co., of the Cherokee Indians is void. 

*'But as said Richard Henderson & Company have been at very great 
expense in making the said purchase, and in settling the said lands, by which 
this Commonwealth is likely to receive great advantage by increasing its 
inhabitants, and establishing a barrier against the Indians, it is just and reas- 
onable to allow the said Richard Henderson & Co. a compensation for their 
trouble and expense." 

On Tuesday, November 17th, these resolutions of the House were 
agreed to by the Senate and a few weeks afterwards — 

It was enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, "That all that tract of 
land situate, lying and being on the waters of the Ohio and Green Rivers, and 
bounded as follows, to wit : 

"Beginning at the mouth of Green River, thence running up the same 
twelve and one-half miles, when reduced to a straight line, thence mnning at 
right angles with the said reduced lines, twelve and one half miles each side of 
the river, thence running lines from the termination of the line extended on 
each side of Green River, at right angles with the same, till the said lines 
intersect the Oliio, which said river Ohio shall be the western boundary of the 
said tract, be, and the same is hereby granted the said Richard Henderson & 
Co., and their heirs as tenants in common, subject to the payment of the same 
taxes as other lands in the Commonwealth are, but under such limitations of 
time as to the settling of the lands as shall hereafter be directed by the General 
Assembly ; but this grant shall, and it is hereby declared, to be in full com- 
pensation to the said Richard Henderson & Co., and their heirs for the charge 
and trouble, and all advantage accruing therefrom to this Commonwealth, and 
that they are hereby excluded from anj^ further claim to lands on account of 
any settlement or improvements heretofore made by them, or any of them, on 
the lands so as aforesaid purchased from the Cherokee Indians." 

Thus by one sweeping act of the Virginia Legislature the pur- 
chase of one million, seven hundred thousand acres of land, from the 
Cherokee Nation, and the great proprietary Government organized 
for its better regulation, was declared null and void, the government 
of Boonesborough wiped out, and the Transylvania" landed estate 
reduced to what was estimated to be two hundred thousand acres. 
This was called the Henderson & Co. Grant. Subsequently this 
grant was discovered to contain only one hundred and sixty thousand 
acres, when in order to gain possession of the full amount, the lines 
were extended a few poles on the three sides. The whole of this 
grant of land is included in the present boundary of Henderson 
County. 



20 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

LAND LAWS OF 1799. 

The Legislative acts of 1799 were marked by the passage, by the 
Virginia Legislature, of the celebrated " Land Law of Kentucky," a 
historical analysis of which would have but little bearing upon the 
object in view in this publication. It is enough to say it was well 
intended and the settlement and pre-emption features were just and 
liberal. The radical and incurable defect of the law, however, was 
the neglect of Virginia to provide for the general survey of the coun- 
try at the expense of the Government, and its sub-division into whole, 
half and quarter sections, as has been done by the United States. 
Instead of this each possessor of a warrant was allowed to locate the 
same where he pleased, and was required to survey it at his own cost; 
but his entry was required to be so specific and precise that each sub- 
sequent locator might recognize the land taken up, and make his entry 
elsewhere, required a precision and accuracy of description, which 
such men as the surveyors of that day could not be expected to pos- 
sess, and all vague entries were declared null and void. Unnum- 
bered sorrows, law suits, and heart rending vexations were . the con- 
sequence of this unhappy law. 

In the unskillful hand of the hunters and pioneers of Kentucky, 
entries, surveys and patents were piled upon each other, overlapping 
and overcropping in endless perplexity. The full fruits of this were 
not reaped until the country became more thickly settled. The effects 
of this old law can be seen by reference to old land suits, and accom- 
panying depositions filed away in the Kentucky courts, perhaps as 
much for relics of primitive days, as for evidences of titles long ago 
settled and recognized as facts beyond further dispute. The imme- 
diate consequence of this law, however, was a flood of immigration. 
The hunters of the elk and buffalo were now succeeded by the more 
ravenous hunters of lands, in the pursuit of which they fearlessly 
braved the hatchet of the Indian and the privations of the forests, 
The surveyor's chain and compass were seen in the woods as frequently 
as the rifle, and during the years 1778, '80 and '81, the great and all- 
absorbing object was to enter, survey and obtain a patent for the rich- 
est sections of land. Indian hostilities were rife during this period, 
but these only formed episodes in the great drama. The year 1780 
was distinguished by the vast number of immigrants who crowded to 
Kentucky for the purpose of locating land warrants. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 21 

In November, of 1780, the County of Kentucky was divided into 

THREE COUNTIES, 

namely: Fayette, Lincoln and Jefferson. They had now three Quar- 
terly Courts, holding monthly sessions, three Courts of Common Law 
and Chancery Jurisdiction, setting quarter yearly, and a host of Mag- 
istrates and Constables. No court capable for trying for capital 
offenses existed in the country nearer than Richmond, the capital of 
Virginia. The Court of Quarter Sessions could take notice only of 
misdemeanors. 

The year 1781 was distinguished by a still larger immigration to 
the new country. Kentucky being now divided into three counties, 
Fayette, Jefferson anc^ Lincoln, the now County of Henderson formed 
a part of Lincoln In the year 1789 the "people had become anxious 
to have a separate and independent State Government, so, in the 
month of May of that year, they elected delegates to the Convention 
as prescribed in the third Act of Separation from Virginia, and in July 
of the same year the delegates met in the town of Danville, now the 
county seat of Boyle County. 

Their first act on assembling was to draw up a respectful memor- 
ial to the Legislature of Virginia, remonstrating against the new con- 
ditions of separation, which was promptly attended to by that State, 
and the obnoxious conditions repealed by a new act, which necessi- 
tated another Convention to assemble in 1790. 

In the meantime the new National Government had gone into 
operation. General Washington was elected President, and the Con- 
vention was informed by the executive of Virginia that the General 
Government would lose no time in or^anizins; such a regular force 
as would effectually protect Kentucky from Indian incursions. This 
had become a matter of pressing necessity, for Indian murders had 
become so frequent that no part of the country was safe. In July, 
1790, the Eighth Convention assembled and formally accepted the Vir- 
ginia Act of Separation, which thus became a compact between Ken- 
tucky and Virginia. A memorial to the President of the United 
States and to Congress was adopted, and an address to Virginiaj 
again praying the good offices of the parent State, in procuring their 
admission into the Union. Provisions were then made for the elec- 
tion of a Ninth Convention to assemble in April, 1791, to form a State 
Constitution. The Convention then adjourned. 

In December, 1790, President Washington strongly recommend- 
ed to Congress the propriety of admitting Kentucky into the Union, 



ii2 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and on the 4th day of Februar}^, 1791, an act for that purpose passed 
both houses, and received the signature of the President. Logan 
County, of which Henderson was a part, was one of the first seven 
counties organized immediately after the admission of Kentucky into 
the Federal Union as a State, and in the same year, 1792, was the 
thirteenth in order of formation, made from a part of Lincoln County, 
and embraced all of the States lying south of Green River. In the year 
1796 Christian County was taken from Logan and made a separate 
and independent county. It was the twenty-first county established, 
and comprised all of that territory now claimed by Henderson, Hop- 
kins, Webster, Livingston, Union, Caldwell, Trigg, Hickman, Calloway, 
Graves, McCracken, Crittenden, Marshall, Ballard, Fulton, Lyon, a 
part of Todd and Muhlenberg, and the present County of Christian. 

HENDERSON COUNTY FORMED. 

Seven years after the admission of Kentucky into the Federal 
Union, Henderson County was formed of a part of Christian County, 
and was the thirty-eighth county organized in the State, and named in 
honor of Colonel Richard Henderson. Henderson County, at the time 
of its formation, embraced all of that territory now embraced in Hender- 
son, Hopkins, Union and Webster Counties; Hopkins was taken 
from Henderson in 1806, Union County in 1811, and Webster was 
formed in 1860, of parts of Henderson, Hopkins and Union. 



CHAPTER II. 



ABORIGINAL. 



TF Mr. Collins is correct in his excellent History of Kentucky, mod- 
^ ern Indians never inhabited Henderson County; yet, all along the 
river front, and in many other interior localities of this county, the 
remains of some race of people are found in great numbers. The en- 
tire river front from First Street up five or six squares, seems to have 
been one vast burial ground, as hundreds of skeletons, bones and 
relics have been taken therefrom by excavators in the employ of the 
city. It is generally conceded, however, that the Indians were not 
the aborigines of Kentucky, but that there was, prior to their com- 
ing, a class of white people known as " Mound Builders," who inhab- 
ited the country lying between the Alleghany and Mississippi Rivers. 
Historians and learned antiquaries have proved, so far as tradition- 
ary and scientific evidence is to be taken, that before the Indians were 
those strange, mysterious people of the mounds, who left no literature 
and no monuments except forest-covered earth and stone works. As a 
race they have vanished utterly in the past, but the comparatively slight 
traces they have left behind tend to conclusions of deep interest 
and importance, not only highly probable, but rapidly approaching cer- 
tainty. 

Correspondences in the manufacture of pottery, and in the rude 
sculptures found ; the use of the serpent symbol ; the likelihood that 
they were all sun-worshipers and practiced the rite of human sacrifice ; 
and the tokens of commercial intercourse manifested by the presence 
of Mexican porphyry and obsidian in the Ohio Valley mounds, satis- 
f actorially demonstrate in the minds of antiquaries the racial alliance, 
if not the identity of our Mound Builders, with the ancient Mexicans. 



24 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

Their wars were fierce and doubtless long and bloody. They met the 
savages with a determined and skilled resistance, but the attacks of 
their ferocious enemies continued, perhaps throughout centuries, at 
last expelling the more civilized, and the Mound Builders vanished 
from this part of the great country. 

Often, especially for the works devoted to religious purposes, the 
earth has not been taken from the surrounding soil, but has been 
transported from a distance. The civilization of the Mound Builders, 
as a theme, has furnished a vast field for speculation, and theorists 
have pushed into a wilderness of visionary conjectures. It is gener- 
ally agreed by learned theorists that Prof. Short's conclusions may be 
safely accepted — that they came into the country in comparatively 
small numbers at first, and during their residence in the territory oc- 
cupied, became extremely populous. They mined copper, which they 
wrought into implements of war, also into ornaments and articles of 
domestic use. They quarried mica for mirrors and worked flint and 
salt mines. Their trade extended from the Lakes to the Gulf. 

Among all nations, in a simple and rude state, s'tories will be 
found current which pass from mouth to mouth without the least sus- 
picion that they are not absolutely true. They are not written, be- 
cause thfey date from a time when writing was unknown, and the mere 
fact of their being repeated by word of mouth causes a perpetual vari- 
ation in the narratives. In this, however, traditionary evidence respect- 
ing the aborigines of Kentucky, is so well founded in fact, and so well 
corroborated by historical evidence of a scientific nature, as to preclude 
the indulgence of historical skepticism. 

MOUND BUILDERS. 

It is undoubtedly true that the Mound Builders at one time inhab- 
ited Henderson County. Dr. Stinson, an old resident of this 

county, and one who has devoted a great part of his life to the study of 
archaeology and archaeological investigations, in a letter written in 1 876, 
says : '* Having examined the camping grounds and graves of the Mound 
Builders of Posey and Vanderburgh Counties in Indiana, and learn- 
ing the peculiarities of burying their dead and disposing of their estates, 
etc., I became anxious to learn whether or not the aborigines of Hen- 
derson were of the same tribe and habits of those of the above-named 
counties across the river. Therefore I came into Henderson County 
and have examined the southwestern portion of it with the following 
results : I find that their mounds are similar, the mode of depositing 
or burying their dead do not differ materially. I visited twenty mounds, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 25 

some of which I dug inlo, where I found some fine relics, and got in 
possession of some excellent historical facts." 

The beautiful niound upon^which is situated Henderson's Tem- 
ple of Justice, has been the subject of debate for man}' years, a num- 
ber claiming that it is a natural mound, while many others claim it to 
be the work of the Mound Builders Tradition has it that this hill or 
mound in its originality was perfectly shaped, gently and gracefully 
slopmg from its apex to its base, but that the rude hand of the con- 
tractor, under the supervision of cruelly tasteless engineers, caused 
its symmetry to be butchered on two sides. This mound at one time, 
undoubtedly, sloped in every direction from its summit, as it does now 
in the direction of Main Street. It is well known, also, that there 
were a great number of ponds in close proximity to this place, as well 
as in other parts of the town. Couple this, then, with the historical 
fact that the Mound Builders did not confine themselves to the taking 
of dirt from the surrounding soil, but in the building of what they 
termed their sacred mounds, transported the soil from a long distance, 
one must at least become reasonably impressed with the belief that 
this most beautiful spot was the handiwork of that strange people, 
who have long since lost their identity, and not the work of Noah's 
waters, or any subsequent upheaving of the elements. It is, perhaps, 
quite true that our " Justice Hall " stands upon ground once conse- 
crated to the peculiar worship of the aborigines. 

HENDERSON COUNTY MOUNDS. 

There are other mounds in the county and from them have been 
gathered many interesting relics of antiquity. Upon the lands of the 
late Colonel A. H. Major, several miles above the city, is a mound of 
which the following notice was made several years ago. 

"In digging upon these lands numerous skeletons, supposed to have been 
aborigines, were found. Colonel Major and D. R. Burbank, conducting the 
search, are quite of the opinion that this was never an Indian burial ground, 
but ofa people who inhabited the country prior to the coining of the Indians. 
Manv articles of peculiar beautv and marked curiosity have been found, among 
the number pipes, bowls, cooking utensils, weapons of war, and evidences of 
military and official rank. In one grave was found three skeletons, the two 
smaller ones, supposed to have been femaies, sitting upon the larger one, 
supposed to have been a male, and in the mouth of each was found a pipe. 
This place must have been the burial ground ofa populous race of people, for 
the quantity of teeth found has never before been equaled," 

On the farm of A. J. Anderson, in Diamond Island Bend, are 
many mounds, four of which stood above the high water of 1883, the 
highest ever known. The ground upon which his house stands is a 



26 HISTORY OF HENDERSON. COUNTY, KY. 

mound, and in 1854, when digging for clay for the purpose of making 
brick, thousands of bones were found and many remarkable relics, in- 
cluding glass trinkets handsomely carved. In addition to this, a lump 
of lead three inches square was found. Mr. Anderson is satisfied in 
his own mind that his place was never an Indian burial ground, but 
that the bones and relics belonged to a race of people living here long 
before the Indians. 

EARLY OUTLAWS. 

The first white people of whose history anything is known, con- 
nected with the prestine settlement of Henderson County, were a set 
of graceless outlaws noted for their wicked deeds and incomparable 
attrocities. It cannot be said that they claimed the " Red Banks " 
as a permanent home, for their lives were devoted to wild adventure, 
thievery and murder in all their manifold sins and wickedness. These 
men were the Mays, Masons and Wilsons, headed by the notorious 
John A. Murrell and Samuel May. Their rendezvous was on the 
bank of the river, and while here made it their business to rob boats 
floating upon the river, and, frequently, murdering the crews. This 
was their headquarters, and robbing boats their occupation up to the 
time Captain Young and his company (who had organized for the pur- 
pose of driving them out of the country) appeared in the neighborhood. 
For a number of years John A. Murrell camped at times upon the iden- 
tical spot where the residence of A. J. Anderson now stands, opposite 
Diamond Island, and gave to that place the poetic name it yet retains 
— " Forest Home." After the appearance of Captain Young, the clan 
then located at or near Cave-in-Rock, 111., where they continued to 
pursue their nefarious avocation. 

EARLY SETTLERS. 

Prior to the formation of Henderson as the thirty-eighth county 
in 1798, there were but few settlers south of Green River. The first 
permanent settlement, of which any knowledge is had, was made above 
the Red Banks — now Henderson — on Richard Henderson & Co.'s 
land in the year 1791. These setclers, or a majority of them, were 
Germans, therefore to that people may be accorded the credit of the 
beginning of Henderson. During the fall of 1791 two or three fam- 
ilies located above the now City of Henderson, on the ground which 
has borne for years the historic name of Hughes' Field. Finding this 
ground to be low and marshy, they packed up and removed here as a 
better site for building a village. Immediately after landing they com- 
menced, with what tools were then at their command, chopping from 
•the immediate forests surrounding the river bank, logs suitable for 
building such huts as would protect them from weather and make 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 27 

them comfortable. When a sufficient number of logs had been gotten 
together, they commenced the building of a row of block-houses, or 
cabins, after the primitive stylefon the river bank, extending from the 
present site of Clore's Mill, at the foot of Sixth Street, down to the resi- 
dence of Dr. A. Dixon, at the foot of Powell Street. At that time 
there was a strip of territory one hundred and fifty feet in width lying 
beyond the present northwestern boundary of Water Street, and on 
this ground is where the first buildings in Henderson were located. 
From the gradual washing of the river most of that territory has dis- 
appeared. That part of it between Second and Third Streets was 
removed in building the present wharf. 

THE FIRST SETTLERS 

here were Michael Sprinkle, John Upp, William Smith, father 
of William Finely Smith, John Husbands, John Haussman, Jacob 
Sprinkle, John Kurkendall, Eneas McCallister and John Dunn. 
During the year 1792 Captain John Dunn was appointed Constable 
for this territory. Eneas McCallister, grandfather of the late John 
E. McCallister, was detained here with his family by the ice, while 
enroute from the Cumberland River country to Pittsburgh, Penn. 
There were not more than half a dozen little log cabins on the bank, 
and two of these found vacant by Mr. McCallister were taken pos- 
session of and occupied by him and his family. 

There were no Indians at that time to be seen on this side of the 
Ohio, but on the Indiana side were to be found several tribes, among 
the number were the Shawnees, from whom Shawneetown derived its 
name. . They were very troublesome at times, and as heartless as 
troublesome. A party of young boys, of whom were Michael and 
Jake Sprinkle and John Upp, armed for the purpose of hunting, 
crossed the river in canoes, never once suspecting that Indians were 
in that vicinity, and upon landing were surprised by a party in am- 
bush, two of them captured, one shot down, the fourth being an expert 
swimmer, and under providential favors, made his escape back to 
Kentucky. The two captives were tortured in many ways — they were 
made to walk forced marches, then beaten with many stripes, and 
finally, after having undergone a terrible journey, bare-footed and 
almost naked, marched into Sandusky, on Lake Erie, from whence, 
after having lived a most frightful life, they escaped, and some time 
afterward arrived at the Red Banks, to the joy of their kin and 
comrades. 

FACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

Among the traditions of the country we are told that many years 
anterior to the advent of the surveyors employed by Richard Hen- 
derson & Co., and even until the cessation of the annual fires, which 



28 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

used to sweep the earth fore and aft, this country, from the begin- 
ning of the low lands which encircle the city, was a vast prairie or 
barren, extending as far as the eye could reach. Indeed, many set- 
tlers now living, who came to this county long since the advent of 
the present century, remember when the greater part of the county 
was a barren territory. There was no timber only along the creeks, 
water courses and marshy places. This continued for many years 
until a swamp of scrubby oak took possession of the land, and from 
this beginning a magnificent growth of timber, including the hickory, 
ash, gum, elm, maple, poplar, sugar, sugar maple, oak, catalpa, wal- 
nut and sycamore grew up luxuriantly over the entire country. 
During these early times the whole face of the country was covered 
with hazelnut bushes, pea-vines, wild strawberries, blackberries, and 
a variety of other kinds of wild fruits. Above and below the then 
villiage of Henderson, the country was one dense cane-brake, afford- 
ing an abundance of the best food for cattle, which were driven on m 
large numbers. There were no Indians to be seen except a few 
friendly ones passing through. 

WILD GAME, BIRDS AND ANIMALS. 

The hillsides and valleys were thickly populated with wild ani- 
mals, such as wolves, wild cats, panthers, deer, and very frequently 
a large bear would be seen. Turkeys, geese, ducks, pheasants, 
squirrels, rabbits and other wild game of the smaller species were 
here in seemingly inexhaustible numbers. Vlr. Payne Dixon, who 
came to Kentucky and located near Henderson in 1805, in a most 
interesting conversation with the writer, indirectly mentioned the 
fact of having seen, a short time after his arrival, a set of elk horns 
remarkable for their size and length. These horns, when placed 
with their tip ends down, would admit a man five feet in height 
walking between the prongs and underneath the skull, without touch- 
ing it or bending his body. Among the winged birds, found at that 
time in great numbers, were those which are at this time total strang- 
ers to his country. They were the paroquet, a species of parrot, but 
of much handsomer plumage, the raven, a bird made famous by 
Edgar A. Poe, and many others, noted for the peculiarities of their 
plumage. As the country gradually developed and became populated 
the birds migrated to wilder lands. 

In those days game was very plentiful, a large buck of fine flesh 
could be purchased for the small sum of fifty cents, while turkeys 
were given away. No apprehension was felt concerning a knawing 
stomach, for the abundance of wild game insured a week's supply at 
any time in a half hour's walk from the door of the cabin home. As 
long as there was powder in the house and lead in the pouch, the 
pioneer little worried or thought of hunger ever staring him in the 
face, but kept his shanty stocked with meats which now command 
fabulous prices. 



CHAPTER III. 



SECOND COLONY. 

TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS THE OUTLAWS DRIVEN OUT — GREAT RELIG- 
IOUS REVIVAL. 

^;* HE few pioneers who had settled here were, a few years afterwards, 
^^ reinforced by the incoming of the ancestors of many of the 
best families now living, among whom were the Hopkins, headed by 
General Samuel Hopkins, agent and attorney, in fact for Richard 
Henderson & Co., the Bells, Andersons, Holloways, Talbotts, New- 
mans, Barnetts, Ashbys, McBrides, Fuquays, Rankins, Hamiltons and 
others. 

About this time all of this section of the country, to the Ten- 
nessee line ^nd including a great portion of the territory north of 
Green River, was infested and completely overrun by a band of noto- 
rious murderers and thieves, who proved a terror to the better class 
of people. Among this class of outlaws were the Harpes, the Masons, 
the Wilsons, the Mays, of whom mention has been made, and many 
others, who were not the avowed, but were the secret friends and 
abettors of the outlaws. These fiends incarnate, thirsted for blood ; 
they rode the forests through and through, fearing neither the power 
of God, nor the defense of the settlers. At that time cabins were far 
apart, and they connected only by paths and trails. For the settler 
to attempt a defense by the use of fire-arms, was but an invitation to 
murder, and to undertake a union of forces at any time for the purpose 
of combining against the outlaws, was as useless as it was next to 
impossible. Therefore, many men, solely, for self-preservation, were 
forced to become apparent friends of these people. Outlawry was at 
high tide, and deeds of violence, shocking to civilization, were perpe- 



30 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

trated with as little concern as though regulated by law, and carried 
out by authority of the courts. A half hour's ride in any direction 
would place the highwayman out of the range of primitive danger, and 
safely away in a territory where they could not be found with a double 
microscopic search warrant. For this reason, then, they were to be, 
and were greatly feared by all honest men. The better class in those 
days were in the minority and had to content themselves and keep 
absolutely quiet in the enjoyment of their possessions, and in the occu- 
pancy of a purely neutral position. 

SALT. 

One of the greatest privations the early settlers had to contend 
with was the great lack of salt. For months they were compelled to 
do their cooking without this necessity, and oftentimes forced to ride 
hundreds of miles over a wild and untraveled country to obtain a 
small sack, for which a fabulous price was charged. Accounts now 
in possession of the writer furnish conclusive evidence of this import- 
ant fact. Ten dollars per bushel was often paid, to which had to be 
added the loss of time and the long and dangerous journey made to 
secure a small supply. From old records it would seem that this 
commodity passed current between men, and in very many instances 
was taken in exchange for land and stock. It was also frequently 
given in exchange for labor and merchant accounts. In 1794, exter- 
nal evidences suggested beyond question, the existence of salt water 
in many parts of the county, and the feasibility of utilizing it so as 
to supply the wants of the settlers. Hunters and surveyors traversing 
the woods and barrens in search of game and boundary lines chanced 
upon buffalo trails and narrow paths, beaten by the hoofs of deer, and 
following them discovered what was known as "licks." These licks 
were frequented by large numbers of wild animals, and as an indis- 
putable evidence, hillsides were found to be undermined by the lick 
of wild tongues, and numerous holes yet moist were found there to 
attest the presence of a briny substance. Upon closer and more 
accurate examination, the clay was found to consist of a strong part 
salt, and this determined some of the more enterprising settlers to 
venture an enterprise which subsequently resulted in one of the great- 
est blessings to the new country. 

Eneas McCallister, grandfather of the late John E. McCallister, 
Esq., having discovered one of these licks on Highland Creek, about 
twenty miles from the Red Banks — now Henderson — much frequented 
by buffalo and deer, conceived the idea of boring for salt water. He 
at once proceeded to sink a well, and at a short distance found water 



. HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 31 

of very great strength in abundance. He erected here salt works, and 
in a short time was able to supply all those living at the Red Banks, 
the adjoining neighborhood, and^-for many miles surrounding. He 
continued to manufacture salt at this point for the term of three or 
four years, at the end of which time parties from Virginia appeared 
upon the ground, not only asserting, but proving a better title to the 
land under the laws as then understood. With these undisputable 
evidences staring him in the face, Mr. McCallister immediately dis- 
possessed himself and soon after located other wells three miles east 
on Highland Creek, at a point then and yet known as the "Knob 
Lick." This soon became a noted locality, so much so that the most 
important public road running south of west from the Yellow Banks, 
now Owensboro, was directed to that point. In the formation of 
Webster County in 1860, this spot was included within the boundaries 
of that county, and can be found three or four miles to the right of 
Sebree City. 

At the Knob Lick, Mr. McCallister found a stream of water 
equally as strong as the one he had left at Highland Lick, and here 
salt was made as well as at Highland until the year 1827, when both 
wells, from some unaccountable reason, ceased to flow, and the works 
were abandoned. 

Simultaneously with the enterprise of Mr. McCallister, salt was 
made in large quantities at the Saline Wells in the Illinois Territory 
by Captain James Barbour, of Henderson. Much of the salt used by 
the early settlers of Henderson County was obtained from these 
works, they going and returning on horseback, with two bushels or 
less. 

CAPTAIN YOUNG AND THE OUTLAWS. 

During the year 1799, the outlaws, of whom mention has before 
been made, had increased in numbers, daring and villiany. They rode 
over a large territory of country, embracing the entire Green River 
section, extending as far northeast as Mercer County, and met with 
no resistance adequate even to their discomforture. They were guilty 
of hell-born iniquities, which would put to blush the demoniacal 
deeds of all ignorance and vice which had preceded their adventure 
into the new country. They were the terror of terrors, and so much 
to be dreaded, that Captain Young, a dashing commander, with a 
number of equally brave men of Mercer County, armed themselves 
and determined at all hazards, to drive the villains from the country. 
Mounted upon fiery chargers of blood and metal, and armed with the 



32 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

best weapons the country afforded, this body of liberty-loving, impet- 
uous troopers, rushed to the deliverance of their country and friends 
from this organized clan, not actuated by any lion-like temptation to 
spring upon their victim or to satiate a long settled and deadly hate, 
but a clan organized to glut a savage vengeance unknown to the most 
heartless red man. The life they led, was one of hire and salary, not 
revenge — it was the counting of money against human life. It was not 
only the counting of so many pieces of silver, against so many ounces 
of blood, but it was a life of inhuman nature, enveloped in depravity, 
intensified in all of its paroxysms of crime. Murder, coupled with 
robbery, or murder alone seemed to have been the actuating impulse 
of this Godless clan. The innocent, the weak and harmless, the sil- 
^very locks of decrepit old age, the golden tresses of sweet infancy 
and purity of charming maidenhood, served as no paliating medium, 
but these met the same fate as did hardy manhood. All, all, who 
fell in the way of these highwaymen were sacrificed to satisfy their 
thirst for blood, and died examples of the barbarity of incontinent 
brutes and fiends. To capture or slay these, was the ultima-thule 
of Captain Young, and his men, and nothing short of a sad and ser- 
ious reverse, a grand and overwhelming victory for the outlaws, could 
check them in their most holy, lawful and natural expedition. 

A bright sun shone upon their departure, the blessings of the peo- 
ple followed them, the sweetest smiles and cheering words of female 
beauty greeted them and bade them God speed. The eolian whis- 
perings of the winds cheered them on, the forests echoed, clear con- 
sciences and a firm faith in the right and their ultimate triumph, 
strengthened them. In all of their adventurous plans and perilous 
surroundings, they recognized the coadjutant power of the Almighty, 
in whose good will they most implicitly relied. Captain Young and 
his men recognized the perils of their undertaking ; they understood 
the wily machinations of the enemy, and with blood for blood emblaz- 
ened upon their banner, started upon their mission of capture or 
death, utterly regardless of their own personal comforts or the hard- 
ships attending a campaign in such a wild and comparatively un- 
marked country. 

Exasperated by new stories told them as they passed on in search 
of the outlaws, the feelings of the patriots became more and more in- 
tense, and to slay an outlaw was an act commending the slayer to pro- 
motion. None of the sympathetic cords were to be touched, no re- 
pentance or contrition, no changing of minds firmly purposed, but the 
keenest ambition was to come in rifle range and then to unhorse the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 33 

fleeing malefactor. To apply the knife to the throat of one of these 
was to be a favor graciously embraced by any one of the command. 
So determined was Captain Young and his men, Mercer County was 
soon delivered, and the outlaws fleeing for the south side of Green 
River, many of them, however, were killed before reaching Green 
River. 

Captain Young was not satisfied with the great and good work 
that had been done, but determined to pursue the villains until the 
last one of them was made to bite the dust, or flee for safety to some 
other more congenial territory. To this end, therefore, he crossed 
Green River into what was then Henderson County, and it is asserted 
as a positive fact that twelve or thirteen outlaws were killed in this 
county. The citizens who had been so long under the terrible voke, 
gave him all the aid possible and Henderson County was soon free. 
The mission of this God-serving band of brave and true men was ex- 
tended through Henderson on down as low as what was known as 
'* Flin's Ferry'- and " Cave-in-rock," on the Illinois side of the Ohio 
River. This place, it was said, and most generally known, was the 
headquarters of a numerous gang of Jack Shepard cut-throats, who 
had appointed it as a place of rendezvous, where they kept supplies 
for flatboats descending the Ohio. Here they held high carnival, 
engaged in their debauches and planned raids upon the surrounding 
country It was a secret hiding place, wild and frightful and danger- 
ous to attack. When rendezvous in sufficient numbers they frequently 
attacked flatboats, murdered the crews and floated the boat on to 
New Orleans on their own account. 

This raid of Captain Young was the first check ever given the 
outlaws, and for a time broke them up almost entirely. It was soon 
followed by the killing of the notorious Uriah, or Big Harpe, and the 
flight of Little Harpe, Mason and others, to the territory of Mississ- 
ippi, where they and their co-operators were killed by each other, or 
captured and hanged by the law. Captain Young and his men re- 
turned to Mercer, receiving the plaudits of the people, and were ever 
afterward remembered in the prayers of those few settlers who had 
lived in indescribable suspense. The country, though thinly settled, 
was now brought to a state of quiet security, every face beamed in 
the hallowed evidence of liberty and freedom of speech, which had so 
long been denied them, and honest men soon became outspoken 
while the over-timid and secret abettors of the outlaws couched 
lances with them in heralding the good name and daring deeds of 

3 



34 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Captain Young and his glorious little squad. The outlaws had no 
friends now. 

GREAT REVIVAL OF 1797. 

It seemed as if by special divine will, that a yet greater check 
was to be given any future life of theirs in the Green River country^ 
This came in the shape of a great religious revival, certainly the most 
wonderful and remarkable ever known prior to that time, and per- 
haps ever known since. Religious interest manifested itself in a most 
magical way, sweeping* like a prairie flame, and extending its in- 
fluence in every direction. The entire Green River country, beginning 
with Warren County, was affected with this wonderful contagion. In 
those days there were very few, if any church buildings, and the pop- 
ulation small and very much scattered. No matter, this excitement 
seized the entire population, permeating every nook and corner of the 
counties, flying here and there with all the indications of an incom- 
prehensible outbreak. These were the days of the great divine, Rev. 
Jas. McGready, whose strong preaching drew hundreds around him, 
and engaged their earnest work in behalf of the Master and His 
Kingdom on earth. Camp meetings became the order of the day, 
often continuing for a month or more. These meetings were attended - 
by people who had come from fifty to one hundred miles away — 
not curious amusement seekers, but men and women who had heard 
and had come to be taught and learn. They were bent upon more 
light and grace spiritually, than they had ever been enabled to gather 
from the solitude of a wilderness life. When assembled the body was 
a large one, a grand one, and great numbers, indeed a very great ma- 
jority, connected themselves with the church. Among that astonish- 
ing number of converts were many who had been suspected of being 
the secret abettors of the outlaws, but, notwithstanding the repulsive 
taint attaching to their moral character, they were welcomed into the 
church and did afterwards become respectable and useful citizens. 

These meetings were conducted by eminent divines, the most 
noted of whom was the Rev. James McGready, then came Revs. Ran- 
kin Hodge and William McGee, Presbyterian preachers, and John 
McGee, a brother of the last named gentleman, who was a Methodist 
preacher. In addition to these the Rev. William Barnett, of that part 
of the country, now known as Caldwell County, frequently officiated. 
Mr. Barnett was a remarkable man, and in addition to his wonderful 
pulpit and revival powers, is said possessed a voice absolutely sur- 
passing belief. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 35 

Hon. Philip B. Matthews, to whom I am indebted for much of 
the foregoing interesting recollections of early times, affirms that he 
could be heard and understood at a distance of one mile- 
It was at these revivals a disease — if it may be so called — farsical 
in its intervention and never before known, manifested itself. This 
anomalous evidence of regeneration — a sample of faith never before 
witnessed, a disease pedantic in its form — partook of an impassioned 
restlessness, then the tremors, then the wriggles, then the shakes, 
then the flounders, then the staggers, and then the whole epileptic 
catalogue of nervous jerks, seized the victims, while the victims seized 
the nearest saplings and exerted herculean powers seemingly to un- 
hinge themselves. This very remarkable outcropping of religious 
fanaticism permeated the entire camp, creating among many a con- 
siderable deo^ree of alarm. The whole country became christianized, 
and. society, law and order became the gainers thereby. 

At this time and a little after, there was an influx of most desir- 
kble immigrants from other States. The Dixons, Alves, Harts, Cow- 
ans, Hillyers and others, from North Carolina; the Towles, Cabells, 
Subletts, Townes, Terrys, Wilsons and Atkinsons, from Virginia ; 
John J. Audubon, from Louisiana, and the Ingrams, Herndons and 
others, from Central Kentucky. The population had not only in- 
creased greatly in numbers, but the improvement in morals and in- 
telligence became very noticable. Henderson society, at that early 
day, would compare favorably with any in the West, and the deeds of 
violence which had been so frequently committed in the still earlier 
settlement of the county were of rare occurrence. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PIONEER TRIALS. 

TN addition to the activity of General Samuel Hopkins in disposing 
-*- of the lots and lands of the proprietors and inducing immigra- 
tion, it must be said that the representatives of the young State were 
awake to the importance of the times, and if Kentucky lagged, no 
fault could be laid at the door of the capital. Numerous difficulties, 
however, pressed hard around the faithful pioneers — ignorance of the 
country, of the laws, and, above all, a lack of education. The great 
difficulty of communicating with the seat of Government, and the fact 
of being shut out from the few news centers of the world, were obsta- 
cles which our forefathers were compelled to contend with. 

In the settlement of disputed land claims, to bring order out of con- 
fusion, rightful owners of lands located and improved were oftentimes 
dislodged by the projected intrigues of designing sharpers. Survey- 
ors were not so expert in those days, nor were the instruments used 
so faltless in design and manufacture as at this day. Erom these, and 
other causes, many of the early settlers became disheartened and re- 
turned to their former homes, or else emigrated to other parts of the 
country. Notwithstanding these drawbacks and innumerable uncer- 
tainties of breaking up homes in a settled State and removing with 
the winds, to one wild and comparatively unknown ; notwithstanding 
the trials and perplexities to be surmounted in traveling over the wild 
and yet uninhabited territory, the population continued to increase. 

Glorious stories of the flower-land were carried back to the At- 
lantic States, until many of the inhabitants, impressed with the im- 
portance of the new territory and the abundance in store for those 



38 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

who would seek it, determined one with another to emigrate and 
share with those who had preceded them, the riches of that charming 
land. With a horse and wagon, a buggy perhaps, a faithful wife and 
children, a dog and a gun, many ventured to leave their Eastern 
homes in search of this new land upon which it was said nature had 
lavishly showered its richest blessings. Young men, and old ones — 
who had but a few years at best to live — plodded along over mountains 
and through valleys, through forests and cane-brakes, unmindful of 
the dangers attending their every step. The women, undaunted, but 
as brave and fearless as the men, trudged their way, sharing those 
trials and dangers incident to the pilgrims' progress — in many in- 
stances of State history — exhibiting such marked courage and disre- 
gard of self-comfort and safety, in the face of dangers, as to nerve 
and strengthen their male protectors who were leading them to this 
great land of promise. 

LAND TROUBLES. 

New difficulties gathered around the settlers as the population 
increased. Every fellow of them had come for land, and land he 
would have, no matter how it was to be gotten. Of course there 
were those among the number punctilliously honest, yet there were 
in those days, as there are now, '^ man sharks,'^ keen-witted, and un- 
scrupulous men, who, regardless of the rights of the weak and igno- 
rant, and impressed solely and alone with the one aim of feathering 
their own nests, resorted to all manner of legal and social technicali- 
ties, to possess themselves of what was not their own, and to dispos- 
sess those of weak and unguarded business capacity of what properly 
belonged to them. Squatters, the pests of all early settlements, be- 
came abundant, and to this day their impudent but successful chican- 
ery is felt by the descendants of many of the early settlers. In many — 
very many — instances, rightful owners of lands were non-residents, 
and their agents were either self-interested and unscrupulous, or else 
neglected the important trusts committed to their keeping. Settle- 
ments were permitted to go by default, squatters were permitted to 
locate second warrants, and so on until lands were cut up into serpen- 
tine shape, while title boundaries became outrageously entangled. 

To straighten these rascally-worked boundaries, in order to allot, 
to the honest settler what • was due him, necessarily entailed an ex- 
pense perhaps greater than the value of the land in controversy. None 
of this was the fault of the law, although it has been frequently charged. 

From 1792 to 1831 the Legislature of Kentucky, by the- passage 
of many acts encouraging and granting relief to settlers, not only 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 39 

evinced a marked interest in the population of this section, but did all, 
and more too,than they ought to have done to aid and encourage immiga- 
tion. Every inducement, both hl^eral and explanatory, was freely offered, 
and the settler who- moved in the dark owed his ultimate misfortune 
to his own ignorance, loseness, or over-confidence in his better posted, 
and, perhaps, perfidious neighbor. Thus, as a result, land suits multiplied 
and misery and untold disappointments were piled upon many who 
had surrendered comfortable homes to come to this new paradise. No 
one can but feel for these hardy old pioneers, who sacrificed upon the 
altar of ignorance and misguided confidence, all they possessed of an 
earthly competence, to assist in clearing up and opening to the world 
this now productive and wide-awake country. These men faced dan- 
ger in all of its manifold forms ; they suffered privations untold, that 
their descendants might inherit the richness of their labors, and 
yet these " man sharks,'" backed by this same law, intended to pro- 
tect the weak as well as the strong, swallowed up the loose and unsus- 
pecting with a keen relish. 

Tradionary and documentary evidences tell the story of many 
lords of the land, who moved in disingenious shabbiness, and w^hose 
intemperance and sensuality were not more reprehensible than their 
grasping greed for things not their own. As before stated, the Legis- 
lature had passed, and continued to pass, act upon act, many of them 
acts explanatory of acts and intended to aid the settler : acts for the 
extension of time, for locating surveys, for filing necessary papers, for 
the payment of fees, and for relief in many other ways, were passed 
at every session of the General Assembly. The laws were as plain 
as laws could be made; the system laid down was as beautiful in sim- 
plicity as it was simple in every feature, and had the people followed 
as directed, there never could have been any reason for a single dis- 
pute or land suit 

It is said the primitive- settlers — the very first who came to this 
section of Kentucky, were men of some education and some means ;. 
most of them were in the decline of life however. The second gen- 
eration, owing to the unsettled condition, and the positive want of in- 
struction, even in the primary branches of education, grew up as the 
cane, and from this ignorance arose the troubles of various complex- 
ions, including vice and immoralities, which proved to be a draw-back 
to the rapid development and growth of the section. The surveyors 
and others appointed to aid the settlers in locating land surveys 
granted them, were ignorant men. Upon a close study of the laws 
from the time of the separation from Virginia to the time all needful 



40 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

laws, having for their object the untangling of bungling misapprehen- 
sions, and establishing a simple and harmonious system in the future, 
had been enacted, we are satisfied that it will be agreed that the Leg- 
islature did all that it could do under the circumstances to aid and 
enlighten the settlers. 

Beginning with the year 1779, it will be seen that all of the land 
lying between the Green and Tennessee Rivers, from the Alleghany 
Mountains to the Ohio River, except the tract of two hundred thou- 
sand acres granted to Richard Henderson & Co., had been reserved 
by the State of Virginia for tlie officers and soldiers of the Virginia 
State line, or continental and State establishment, to give them choice 
of good lands, not only for the public bounty due to them for military 
service, but also in their private adventures as citizens. No persons 
were allowed by law to enter any part of the said lands until they — 
the officers and soldiers, had first been satisfied. -Notwithstanding 
this reserve, guarded as it was by authority of enactment, many per- 
sons in their hurry to squat upon some of this land of promise, actu- 
ally settled upon this reservation, thereby jeopardizing the preference 
and benefit intended by the State of Virginia and concurred in by 
Kentucky. Therefore, as a consistant remedy, in October, 1779, the 
General Assembly of Virginia enacted an ultimatum seemingly hard 
upon the pioneers between the two rivers, yet in strict conformity with 
other acts passed prior to that time. By this law, all persons settling 
after that date upon the lands reserved for the officers and soldiers, 
or those who having already settled thereon, who failed to remove 
from the said reservation within six months from next after the end 
of that session of the Assembly, should forfeit all his or her goods and 
chattels to the Commonwealth, and for the recovery of which, the 
Attorney for Virginia, in the County of Kentucky, for the time being 
was required to immediately after the expiration of said term, to enter 
prosecution, by way of information in the courts of said county, on be- 
half 01 the Commonwealth, and on judgment being obtained, imme- 
diately to issue execution and proceed to the sale of such goods and 
chattels ; and then, if such person or persons so prosecuted, should 
not remove in three months, the Attorney was required to certify 
to the Governor the name or names of the person or persons so re- 
fusing, who was required to issue orders to the commanding officer of 
the said county, or to any officer in the pay of the State, to remove 
such person or persons, or any others who might settle thereon, by 
force of arms, except such persons as had actually settled, prior 
to the first day of January, 1778. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 41 

• 

B}^ the terms of the compact with Virginia, passed December 18, 
1779, it was agreed that no grant of land or land warrant to be issued 
by Kentucky, the then propose^ State, should interfere with any war- 
rant issued prior to -that time from the land office of Virginia, on or 
before the first day of September, 1791. That the unlocated lands of 
this district, which stood appropriated to individual, or discription of 
individuals, by the laws of Virginia for military or other services, 
should be exempted from the disposition of the proposed State of 
Kentucky, and should remain to be disposed of by the Commonwealth 
of Virginia, according to such appropriation, until the first day of 
May, 1792, and no longer, and thereafter the residue oi all lands re- 
maining ii) the military reservation, should be subject to the disposi- 
tion of Kentucky. 

By an act of the Assembly of Kentucky, passed December 21, 
1795, about three years and a half after the expiration of the time stip- 
ulated in the compact with Virginia, concerning the appropriation of 
these reserved military lands had expired, it was discovered that a 
number of people had settled on the vacant lands south of Green 
River, under a belief that they were no longer to be taken by military 
warrants, and that the Legislature would grant them settlements there- 
for, upon their paying a moderate price for the same. 

The Legislature, by right of vested interest, ordained that 
every housekeeper or free person above the age of twenty-one years, 
who had actually settled on any land within that boundary, set apart 
for the said officers and soldiers on the south side of Green River, 
which had not previously been taken by a military warrant, on or be- 
fore the first day of January next following, and should actually reside 
thereon at the time, should be entitled to any quanity of land not ex- 
ceeding two hundred acres, including such settlement, provided the 
settlement did not include any salt lick, or any body of ore. For the pur- 
pose of ascertaining who should be the rightful owner of the land, it 
was further enacted that three persons should be appointed with power 
and authority to hear and determine the right of settlement at a 
court to be held in Logan County, of which county Henderson was 
then a part. This court was invested with full power to hear and de- 
termine all disputes between settlers, and their decision was to be 
final and without appeal. In case of a contest respecting the right of 
settlers, the person who made the first improvement should be pre- 
ferred, that the lands located by virtue of this act should be surveyed 
within six months, and a plat and certificate lodged in the Register's 
office within six months from the time of the survey, upon which the 



42 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



• 



Register should issue a grant. All fixed fees were required to be 
paid, and for a failure on the part of the settler to comply with the 
law, then the survey was to revert back to the State. It was further 
enacted, that no person should settle on any vacant or unappropriated 
land within the State in future, with the expectation of being granted 
the preference of settlement. 

Subsequently an act, entitled an act, for encouraging and grant- 
ing relief to settlers, approved March 1, 1797, was amended and re- 
vised by an act approved February 10, 1798. The act of 1797, which 
was an amendment to the act of 1795, having been found defective, 
it was enacted by way of amendment and revision, that any widow or 
free male person above the age of eighteen years, and every other 
free person, having a family, who should have or might actually settle 
himself or herself on any vacant or unappropriated land on the south 
side of Green River, on or before the first day of July next. following, 
clear and fence two acres, and tend the same in corn, should be en- 
titled to two and not less than one hundred acres of land, to include 
his or her settlement in any part of the survey, which he or she should 
express in his or her entry ; provided a certificate of a settlement 
sh5uld not be laid on the lands set apart for any salt lick or spring, 
with one thousand acres around the same, or for seminary purposes. 
Every person entitled to a settlement by virtue of this act, was re- 
quired to lay in his or her claim before a board of three Commission- 
ers appointed by the Governor, when setting for that purpose, describ- 
ing the bounds of his or her lands, and furnishing proof of his or her 
rights of settlement. Each person to whom a settlement was granted 
agreeably to this act, was required to pay into the Treasury of the 
State for each one hundred acres of first-rate land, sixtv dollars, and 
for all lands of inferior quality, fifty dollars, and for a failure to pay 
the amount and to obtain the Auditor's quietus according to law for 
the same, within twelve months from the time of granting such certifi- 
cate, the land was to be forfeited to the State. In addition to this, 
each settler obtaining a certificate agreeably to this act, was required 
to enier the same with the Surveyor of the county in which the land 
should lie, and the same surveyed as nearly in a square as the inter- 
vening claims would admit of, and to return a plat and certificate of 
survey, accompanied by the Commissioners' certificate, to the Regis- 
ter's office of the State, within twelve months from the time of obtaining 
such certificate, and upon the payment of the usual fees the Register 
was required to issue a grant. For the purpose of determining who 
were entitled to a settlement under the provisions of this act, the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 43 

Commissioners' appointed by the Governor were empowered to hear 
and determine the right of settlement, and the class to which said 
land belonged. The Commissio^iers' were directed to meet at the Court 
House in Christian County, to which Henderson then belonged, on 
the third Monday in October, and to continue by adjournment until 
the business brought before them should be completed. In all dis- 
putes between settlers, the priority of settlement, the oldest improve- 
ment made after the first day of March, 1797, was to have preference, 
and no person was to obtain a certificate for more than one settle- 
ment ; provided any person who had actually settled him or herself on 
any vacant land prior to March 1, 1797, and complied with the re- 
quisition of this act, and resided thereon at the time of the meeting of 
the Commissioners, and who had not obtained a certificate from the 
former Commissioners, should be considered the oldest improved, but 
in a dispute between settlers concerning the priority of improvement 
under this act, no improvement was to be considered as sufficient, 
unless the person having made the same should have actually settled 
thereon within four months from the time of improving. It was fur- 
ther enacted that any person who should obtain a settlement by virtue 
of this act. and not reside thereon, either by himself or his or her 
representative, a": least one year next succeeding the date of his or 
her certificate, should forfeit all right, title and interest and claim to, 
or in such settlement, and the same was to revert to the State, Any 
person who had obtained a certificate for a settlement under the act 
of 1795, heretofore recited, and had failed to pay as required, were 
given the further time of nine months to pay the same, without any 
forfeiture, by paying six per cent, interest per annum, and if the prin- 
cipal and interest was not paid within the nine months from the date 
of the act, the lands not paid for should be at the disposition of the 
Legislatiiie until the whole amount due thereon was paid ; anv person 
who had obtained a certificate of settlement and neglected to enter 
the same within the time limited by law with the surveyor, was granted 
six months further time to do so ; any person, who by a mistake may 
have settled on a military claim and obtained a certificate from the 
Commissioners in conformity to the act of 1795, was given by this act 
twelve months time to remove from the same and settle himself or 
herself on any vacant and improved land on the south side of Green 
River. On February 12, 1798, an act to prevent illegal surveys on 
the south side of Green River w^as approved and a heavy penaltv 
fixed for a violation thereof. On the twenty-second day of Decem- 
ber, 1798, another act allowing? the settlers south of Green River to 



44 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

pay the money due the State in equal instaHments and for other pur- 
poses, was passed. This act, after reciting the fact that the settlers 
on the south side of Green River labored under great inconveniences 
from the scarcity of money, and to remedy the same, it was enacted 
that all persons who had obtained certificates under this act, passed 
at the last session — 

*' Entitled an Act to Amend and Revise the Act, Entitled an Act for 
Encouragin.^ and Granting Relief to Settlers on the south side of Green River, 
should be allowed to pay the same by equal annual installments, of one-fourth 
part of the purchase money, together with lawful interest annually due on the 
same, the first annual payment to be made on or before the 15th of the follow- 
ino- November, That all claimants under any former acts passed previous to 
the year 1795, for the encouragement and granting relief to settlers, should 
have the further time of six months to pay into the Treasury the several 
sums due from them, and during the time no forfeitures should accrue for any 
failure of pavment, according to the provisions of any former law." 

On December 10, 1799, one year afterwards, another act was 
passed granting to settlers prior to the year 1797, who had not paid 
the sums due from them, the further time of ten months to pay the 
same. This same extension was granted to all persons who had ob- 
tained certificates under the act of February 10, 1798. This act also 
gave to settlers who, through mistake, had obtained a certificate on a 
military or for prior claim, the still further time of eighth months to 
remove and locate the same on any other land on the south side of 
Green River not at that time legally appropriated. The further time 
of eight months was given all persons who had obtained a certificate 
under any of the before-recited acts to survey the land to which they 
may have been severally entitled by this or any former act. On De- 
cember 11, 1800, one year after, an act was passed granting further 
relief to settlers on the south side of Green River. In this act the 
Legislature directed that all monies due at that time and to become 
due for lands 2:ranted bv the Commonwealth to settlers south of Green 
River, shall be paid in nine annual installments, to be paid on the 
first day of December in each year thereafter, until the whole amount 
be paid, with five per cent, interest. Again by this act the further time 
of twelve months was allowed to all persons, who, through mistake, 
had obtained certificates for settlements formed on military claims, to 
re-locate the same on any land on the south side of Green River, not 
at the time legally appropriated, or entered for by any other person. 
The still further time of two years was given to all persons who had 
obtained certificates on the south side of Green River, to enter and 
survey the same ; nor was this the end, nor were settlements made at 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 45 

the expiration of the time ; on the contrary, settlers continued to im- 
portune indulgencies, and the Legislature continued to grant them. 
An act, entitled, " An Act to Reciuce the Price of Head-right Lands 
on the South Side of Green River, Approved December 13, 1831," 
after going on to recite that it had been represented that the lands 
to be paid for to the Commonwealth, derived under Commissioners', 
County and Circuit Court certificates, to settlers south of Green River, 
were generally poor and of little value and owned and settled by poor 
persons, actually ordained that the owner or owners of any such claim 
or claims should be permitted to pay for them at the rate of five dol- 
lars per hundred acres, and at that rate for a greater or smaller quan- 
tity at any time within twelve months from and after the first day of 
January, 1831, an act to repeal the law then in existence in relation to 
head-right settlers, and to dispose of the balance of the debt due 
the Commonwealth on Commissioners', County and Circuit Court 
certificates south of Green River, should be filed in the office of the 
County Court of the county wherein the party resided, subject to the 
order of the County Court, which was directed after the first day of 
the following November, to be determined on what public highway 
or highways within their counties the money or labor arising or due 
from said head-right debtors should be appropriated. The court was 
directed to appoint an overseer to lay out the said money or labor 
upon any road in whatever manner the Court might direct. The 
overseer was directed to collect the amounts due the Commonwealth, 
either in money or labor, as the debtor might elect, and the overseers' 
receipt acted as a quietus to the land claim, so far as the State was 
interested. So much of the act in force at that time as authorized the 
owners of head-right certificates to have them surveyed and patented, 
was continued in force for two years longer ; but all claims not sur- 
veyed and returned to the Register's office before the end of the above- 
named time, were to be forfeited to the State, and might be taken up 
and surveyed by any person in the same manner as other vacant lands 
belonging to the State. 

It was further enacted that each of the County Courts of the 
Commonwealth should have full power and authority, in their discre- 
tion, to surrender up to any widow, or poor persons, who might be 
unable to pay, and who had been a settler on the land, any balance 
due from him, her or them, and, without payment, grant a certificate 
to the Auditor in like form, as if the payment had been made in money 
or labor. Again on the seventh day of February, 1834, an act to 
amend an act concerning head-right certificates, was approved. In 



46 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

this the owners of head-right certificates were given an additional 
twelve months, to file in the office of the County Clerk, their certifi- 
cate as required by the act of 1833. An act entitled an act to reduce 
the price of head-right lands on the south side of Green River, ap- 
proved December 13, 1831, was continued in force until the first day 
of January, 1835. From the foregoing acts of the Kentucky Legisla- 
ture, concerning the early settlement of the territory south of Green 
River, it will be seen that body was not alone active in the interest of 
the new comer, but solicitous that he should choose a safe beginning, 
and in choosing it, make sure of a prosperous future. No petition of 
the people went unheeded, and it is quite probable, through the liber- 
ality of the Representatives, they were often imposed upon and se- 
duced into doing things, which in their results, culminated in injury 
rather than good to the people. 

In this chapter I have endeavored to give a brief history of the 
early laws, as applied to settlers, and from it may be gained a lesson 
of the trials and tribulations of our ancestors. They were poor and 
ignorant and thus necessarily, from surrounding inconveniences, fell 
heir to great anxiety of mind and body. We now, in this enlightened 
age, can but poorly estimate what was done by them for us. 



CHAPTER V. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF HENDER- 
SON COUNTY. 

IN the earl}' days of Henderson, when settlements were very few 
and far between, the country wild, no roads, no conveniencies, no 
n:iode of travel, save upon the back of a horse, or on foot, the means 
of obtaining information from other parts of the country were poor 
indeed. There were no mail facilities, no way of getting the news, 
only through the medium of one to another, who happened to be 
traveling from place to place. It is not strange, therefore, that the 
acts of the Legistature were a long time finding their way to the peo- 
ple, and the people then a long time complying with the law. Offi- 
cers of the law were distressingly few, and to institute legal proceedings 
to settle land rights, was an undertaking most of the settlers rather 
shrank from, than wished to undertake. The nearest courts were one 
hundred to two hundred miles away, with no roads or bridges. A nar- 
row passageway or trail beaten by wild animals meandering through 
the cane, pea-vine, prairie grass and forest undergrowth, offered the only 
highway, and to make this- journey was both difficult and dangerous. 
For this reason, perhaps more than any other, many people failed to 
comply with the law, and what they had earned by honest hard toil was 
taken away by the more active settler of a speculative and unscrup- 
ulous turn of mind. There were few men in those days to counsel 
with, and matters could not be brought from shapeless confusion, 
with such comparative ease and reasonable expense as they were 
when the county became mpre thickly populated. During the nine- 
ties, settlements were made in the county and town until it was deemed 



A 



-^4 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

advisable to establish another county ; therefore to aid in the more 
rapid developement of the Green Ri^^er country, on the 21st day of 
December, 1798, the General Assembly of the State passed the fol- 
lowing act : 

•' Section i. Be it enacted^ ^c.. That all of that part of the Count}- of 
Christian, from and after the 15th day of May next, included in the following 
lands to-wit : Beginning on Trade Water, opposite the mouth of Montgomer- 
ies, thence to the head of Drake's Creek, thence down Drake's Creek to Pond 
River and down the same to Green River, and down the same to the Ohio 
River, and down the same to the mouth of Trade Water, and up the same to 
the beginning, shall be one distinct county, and called and known by the name 
of Henderson. But the County of Henderson shall not be entitled to a separ- 
ate Representative until the number of free male inhabitants therein contained, 
above the age of twenty-one years, shall entitle them to one representation, 
agreeable to the ratio that shall hereafter be established by law. 

"Sec. 2. The Qiiarter Sessions Court for the County of Henderson 
shall be held annually on the first Tuesday in the months of March, May, July 
and October, and the County Courts tor said county shall sit the same day in 
every other month, in which the Courts of Qiiarter Sessions are not herein 
directed to be held, in such manner, as is provided by law in respect to other 
counties within this State. 

"Sec 3. The Justices of the Court of Qiiarter Sessions and County Courts 
named in the Commissions for said county, shall meet at Samuel Bradley's 
Tavern, in the Town of Henderson, in the said county, on the first court day 
after said division takes place, and having taken the oath prescribed by law, 
and a Sheriff being qualified to act, the Justices of the said courts shall proceed 
to appoint a clerk, separately to their respective courts, as they may severally 
choose to do, and to fix on a place to erect the public buildings in said county 
where the courts for said county thereafter shall be held." 

This act made it lawful for the Sheriff of Christian County to 
make distress fot any public dues or officers' fees unpaid by citizens, 
within the bounds of the new county at the time the division should 
take place ; also, that the Courts of Christian County should have 
jurisdiction in all actions and suits depending therein at the time of 
said division, and should try and determine the same, issue process, 
and award execution. This act took effect May 15, 1799. Hender- 
son was now a full-fledged county, with established boundaries, includ- 
ing ample territory, one would think, for all practical and reasonable 
purposes, yet there was a disposition to claim the peninsula north- 
west of the Ohio River, and now known as the bayou in Union Town- 
ship, Indiana. Title Papers calling for lines in that territory which 
was claimed as a part of Christian County, are of record in the County 
Clerk's office at this time. For a long time this disputed question 
remained unsettled. On the 27th day of January, 1810, the Legisla- 




PIRST COURT HOUSE. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 49 

ture of Kentucky settled the question, by the passage of the following 
preamble and enactment : 

"Whereas, Doubts are suggested whether the counties calHng for the 
Ohio River in the boundary line extend to the State Hne on the northwest 
side of said river, or whether the margin of the southeast side is the limit of 
the county— to explain which-.5^ it enacted, &-c.. That each County of this 
Commonwealth calling for the river Ohio, as the boundary line, shall be con- 
sidered as bounded in that particular by the State line, on the northwest side 
of said river, and the bed of the river and the Islands thereof, shall be in their 
respective counties holding the main land opposite thereto within this State, 
and the several county tribunals shall hold jurisdiction accordingly." 

Subsequent to this in a suit of Handley's lessee, versus Anthony, 
concerning Kentucky's jurisdiction over the peninsula in Indiana' 
opposite the Town of Henderson, the Court of Appeals of Kentucky 
decided among other things — 

'-That the boundary of the State of Kentucky extends only to low water 
mark on the western or northwestern side of the river Ohio, and doesnotin- 
clude a peninsula or island on the western or northwestern bank, separated 
from the main land by a channel or bayou, which is filled with water, only 
when the river rises above its banks, and is at other times dry." 

This decision has forever settled the boundary line of Henderson 
County, so far as her northwestern line is concerned. In pursuance 
of the act heretofore recited, creating the County of Henderson, the 
five Justices of the County Court and the three of the Court of Quar- 
ter Sessions, commissioned by his excellency, the Governor, met for 
the first time at Bradley Tavern, in the Town of Henderson, on the 
fourth day of June, 1799, and organized their courts according to law. 
The first record says : 

" This being the day directed by an. act of the General Assembly, for the 
meeting of the Courts of Justices thereof aforesaid, for the purposes therein 
expressed, the said officer*- met as aforesaid, and constituted their courts in 
manner and form following: Present, Samuel Hopkins, Abraham Landers, 
and Hugh Knox, Gentlemen Justices of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Hen- 
derson County. Present, Charles Davis, Jacob Barnett, Daniel Ashby, John 
Husbands, Eneas McCallister and Jacob Newman, Gentlemen Justices of the 
Peace and County Court, for Henderson County. A commission from his 
excellency, the Governor of the State, bearing date December 22, 179S, di- 
rected to Charles Davis, Jacob Barnett, Daniel Ashby, John Husbands, 
Eneas McCallister and Jacob Newman, Esq's., appointing them Justices of 
the Pea „ in this county, was produced and read, whereupon the said gentle- 
men took the oath prescribed by the Constitution, and were qualified a^'ccord- 
ingly , ^ commission from his excellency, the Governor, bearing date Decem- 
ber 22, 1798, directed to Andrew Rowan. Esq., appointing him Sherift'of the 
County, was produced and read, whereupon the said Andrew Rowan took the 
4 



50 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

oath prescribed bv the Constitution, and with Daniel Ashby and Jacob New- 
man, his sureties entered into, and acknowledged their bond in the penalty of 
one thousand dollars for the said Rowan's duly and faithfully performing the 
said office of Sherift" according to law " 

The Court of Quarter Sessions then proceeded to appoint a clerk 
and John David Haussman was appointed, whereupon the said Hauss- 
man took the oath, &c., and entered into bond, with General Samuel 
Hopkins his surety. The County Court proceeded to appoint a clerk, 
and John David Haussman was appointed, and with General Samuel 
Hopkins, his surety, entered into bond, &c. Edward Talbott produced 
a commission from the Governor, appointing him Surveyor of the 
county, whereupon he, with Isham Talbott, his surety, entered into 
bond in the penalty of one thousand pounds for the faithful perform- 
ance of his duties. 

The Justices of the Court of Quarter Sessions, and the Justices 
of the County Court consociated, proceeded to consider and fix upon 
a place for the seat of Justice of Henderson County, and having con- 
sulted together, ordered and determined that the public buildings be 
erected on the Public Square in the Town of Henderson, and that the 
courts for the county be held in the said Town. The Justices having 
determined on such matters as were confided to them conjointly by 
law, dissolved their sitting. The County Court continued in session, 
all of the qualified Justices being present. The first business pre- 
sented to the court, was an indenture of bargains and sale from 
Henry Purviance for himself, and as an attorney in fact for others, the 
same was acknowledged and ordered to be recorded. The court then 
adjourned to the school house. 

RATHER INDEFINITE. 

The foregoing copy of the record is about as clear and compre- 
hensive as most of the orders to be found during the official term of 
Mr. Haussman ; evidently that gentleman never expected a history of 
the county from its beginning to be written, and had he kept his books 
with the view of furnishing as little information to the historian as 
possible, he could hardly have succeeded more thoroughly than he 
has done. It would be a hard matter at this time to tell from Mr. 
Haussman's books and papers where Bradley's Tavern and the school 
house stood at the time he was clerk. It would have been an easy 
matter, had he simply added the number of the lot or lots. After an 
extended research through the old records, and repeated conversa- 
tions with many of the oldest inhabitants, it is pretty generally settled 
that Bradley's Tavern stood on the east side of Main between First 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 51 

and Second Streets, and the school house stood in the site now occu- 
pied by the store house of Thomas Evans, on the northeast corner of 
Mam and Second Streets. Th?se houses were built after the primi- 
tive style, unhewn logs being used for walls arid logs hewn on one side 
for joists. The school house was a small affair, perhaps not exceed- 
ing fourteen feet square in the clear. To continue with the records 
of the first County Court, we find that the non-cupative will of Joseph 
Mason, deceased, was produced in court, proved by the oath of 
Rachel Thompson, and ordered recorded. In this will a portion of 
the peninsula lying on the Indiana side, of which we have spoken, 
was devised and the same mentioned as being a part of Christian 
County, lying in the northwestern part. The county being without 
a prison house, it was ordered that^Samuel Hopkins, Eneas McCal- 
hster and John Husband, or any two of them, report to the next 
August meeting a plan whereon to erect a public jail, likewise what 
addition ought to be made to the present school house to make it 
more convenient for holding courts. Jonathan Anthom was appointed 
the first constable, executing bond and taking the oath prescribed by 
law. Court then adjourned ; signed, Charles Davis. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE FIRST COUNTY COURT — HUMOR OF THE PEOPLE— SURVEYING AND 

OPENING THE ROADS. 

y^HE meeting of the first court of Henderson County was the occa- 
^^ sion of much rejoicing. The Justices and under officers imme- 
diately became sovereign lords, and were gazed at, upon the adjourn- 
ment of that imposing body, as though they were of shape curious, or 
had mysteriously inherited the power of relieving all ills. They were 
courted and feasted, and button-holed, as though they were new- 
comers, with all authority and power. In those early days the honor 
attaching to a commission signed and sealed by the Governor was as 
highly prized as though it was one of our modern papers, ornamented 
with variagated sealing wax, pink ribbons, or red tape, bearing upon its 
face the authority to draw upon Uncle Sam for six thousand or more 
dollars per annum. It was fortunate that there was but little use for 
money, as there was but little of it to be had. There were no expen- 
sive amusements, no extravagant social pastime, no glittering extrava- 
gancies, or cultured professionals, to draw from the buckskin wallet 
shining values for an hour's season with the great masters. But there 
was an abundance of good cheer; — there was the rude, untutored, 
uncultured swing, of the wild woods fiddler, as he made the welkin. 
ring, tickling the souls of unblacked brogans with the inspiring har- 
monies of " Leather Breeches," " Molly Put the Kettle On," or " Buf- 
falo Gals." Little did those people know of your operas, grand recep- 
tions, or swell occasion. A puncheon floor, splintery and unadzed, 
wheron to dance ; a puncheon table, whereon to place their earthern 
or wooden tableware, a log-heap, sending its sparks up to the clouds, 



54 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

whereon to broil the richest of meats, and then to swing corners with 
the rosy cheeked lasses of the wild West, was fashion and glory enough 
for them. They had their pleasures, and snuffed freedom from every 
breeze. The woods, barrens and the water courses were theirs ; all 
descriptions of wild game were in gun shot of their cabin doors. The 
land was susceptible of the highest culture, and thus the forefathers 
of many of us stood monarchs over wants, rejoicing, as they had a 
right to, in a promise of a bountiful plenty showered upon them with 
an unmeasured hand. To open up the country to travel, to clear out the 
undergrowth, to settle down to the realities of life, and to regulate the 
settlement according to the forms of progress and law, became the 
most important question. The State had been admitted into the 
Union of States, the county had been recognized by the State, and 
up to this time the strong arm of the law had seldem ever brought its 
protecting fold around the few hardy pioneers of the " Red Banks." 

"but the DAY HAD COME." 

The settlement of the county was on the increase, and to keep 
step with their more advanced neighbors, was one of the determina- 
tions formerly fixed Backed by the authority of the young Common- 
wealth, they began in earnest to open up lands to bring an uninhab- 
ited wilderness from its rude originality to green fields of growing 
grain ; to substitute in place of wolves, herds of cattle and sheep, graz- 
ing upon a thousand hills; to bring civilization from a comparatively 
wild state of individual laxity, by organizing courts, building rude 
temples of justice, and prison houses — such as their limited means 
would allow — substituting public roads for the trails of wild animals, 
clearing up the land for cultivation, and such other things contem- 
plated by law, and the progress of the times in other parts of this 
great country. The second meeting of the County Court was held in 
the old log school house on the first Tuesday in August, 1799. The first 
business coming before the court was the proposition to establish pub- 
lic roads, whereupon the following order was passed : 

smith's ferry ROAD. 

" Ordered, that Samuel Hopkins, Jacob Barnett and Thomas Willingham, 
or any two of them, mark and lay off" a road from the Public Square, in the 
Town of Henderson, to Smith's Ferry, on Green River, and Samuel Hopkins 
is appointed surveyor of that road from the Town of Hendersr>n to the main 
fork of Lick Creek, and Thomas Willingham, from the main fork of Lick 
Creek to the ferry; and it is further ordered, that the said Samuel Hopkins, 
with his own hands ; Arend Rutgers, with his hands; Jacob Barnett, with his 
hands; Russell Hewett, with his hands; Joshua Fleehart, Thomas Smith and 
Rgl^ert B^ird, open the said road and keep it in repair from the public square 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 55 

in Henderson to the main fork of Lick Creek, and that John Kilgore, Thomas 
Freels, John Knight Nerod Franceway, Elijah Griffith, Lawrence Raw- 
lasson, Jr., William Rawlasson, Isaac Knight, Nathan Young. Jacob Van- 
kird, Michael Hog, Adam Hay, Alt^ McGlaughlin, Thomas Stoll, Charles 
Davis and his male laboring tithables, Adam Lawrence, Jr., John Lawrence, 
Isaac Lusade and Jesse Kimbell, upou the said road and keep it in repair from 
the main fork of Lick Creek, to Smith's Ferry." 

This was the first road established in Henderson County. It 
ran to a point two miles beyond Hebardsville, where it bore to the 
right, and approached Green River at a point about one, or one and 
a half miles above the present Henderson and Owensboro Ferry. 
This was the crossing place for many years, but subsequently changed 
to Calhoun Ferry, the now crossing place. Under an act concerning 
public roads passed by the General Assembly, February 25, 1797, 
this road was surveyed and opened, yet we have no record of viewers 
even having been appointed. From this it is reasonable to conclude 
that this route had been opened prior to 1799 and recognized as a 
public road, considerably traveled. The distance from Henderson to 
Smith's Ferry was fully twenty miles, and mostly over a hilly, rugged 
country, hence the difficulties the few men who were required to mark, 
lay off and keep in repair the said road must have labored under. 
There were but two surveyors and twenty-eight whites, and four or 
five colored laboring tithables to do the work required over the whole 
line of twenty miles, a work which included clearing, grubbing, level- 
ing, filling and ditching thirty feet wide. From the list of men ap- 
pointed to do this work, the reader may form an idea of the popoula- 
tion of the county at that time, remembering, of course, that many of 
those named lived fully five and some eight miles from the line of the 
road. Under the law of 1797, all male laboring persons from the age of 
sixteen years or more, as well as colored male laboring tithables, were 
appointed by the court, to work upon some public road. This being 
the first and only public road in the county and only twenty-eight 
persons to be found within its whole length of twenty miles, it will 
necessarily be inferred that settlers at that early date were really few 
and far apart. These few men and boys were required to open and 
keep this road in repair. The road was to be kept well cleared and 
smoothed thirty feet wide at least. Bridges and causeways twelve feet 
wide were to be made and kept in repair, and for a failure to do anv 
of the work required, the party failing to attend with proper tools for 
cleaning the road, or refusing to work the same, subjected himself 
to a fine of seven shillings for every day's offense. To comply with 
the law, was either an impossibiltity, or else the surveyors were totally 



56 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

incompetent, for it will be seen as this work progresses with the 
business of the Court of Quarter Sessions, that it was a certain 
feature of that court's business, at each session to find bills of indict- 
ments against a large majority of road surveyors of the county for 
failure to keep some parts of their road or roads in repair. 

" CLEAR CREEK ROAD." ""^ 

At the same County Court when the Smith's Ferry Road had been 
disposed of, it was ordered that Abraham Landers, John McCombs, 
John Seeper, William Stewart and John Rover, or any three of them, 
be appointed to mark out a road from the Public Square, within the 
Town of Henderson, in the direction of Clear Creek, and report the 
conveniences and inconveniences. At the September court, the 
Commissioners reported having performed their duty, and marked a 
road running through the lands of Dr. Adam Rankin, Captain Ed- 
mond Hopkins, John Slover, Sr., Isham Sellers, Jacob Newman, near 
Robinson Lick, John Slover, Jr., on a fork of Trade Water, where it was 
supposed the road must necessarily divide itself into several forks, viz: 
to Nashville, Lexington and Christian. They also reported the route 
nearly a direct south one, and from its direction would tend much to 
the convenience and utility of the present inhabitants of the county 
in general. A summons was directed to issue against the land own- 
ers, to show cause, if any, why the road should not be opened. At 
the following November meeting of the court, in obedience to sum. 
mons, the land owners consented to the opening of the road, and 
thereupon it was — 

'■ Ordered that the said road from the Town of Henderson to the mouth 
of Clear Creek he opened, and that Edmund Hopkins he appointed surveyor 
from the Square in the Town of Henderson to tlie line of the Henderson & 
Co, Grant, and that he, witli his own male tithables Dr. Adam Rankin. Sher- 
wood Hicks, James Worthington, Jocob Newman, Abraham Landers, John 
Landers. William Laurence, Rawland Hughes Josenli Worthington and their 
male tithable> open the road and keep it in repair. Wjjliam Black was ap- 
pointid sur\e\'or from the line of the grant to the old trace from Cumberland 
to Robertson's Lick, and he, witli John Leeper, Jacob Newman Matthew 
Kenny. John Christian, Matthew Christian. Nevil Lindsay, Philemon Rich 
ards, James Veach, Isham Sellers, Ephriam Sellers John Slover, Isaac Slover, 
John Slover, Jr., John McCombs. William McCombs. James Hopkins, Wil- 
liam M. Fullerton, Henry Smith. Asha Webb. Andrew Black. John Locks, 
William IJui^hes. David Hughes, Eneas McCallister, Eneas McCallister, Jr., 
Jesse McCallister. John Hancock, Robert Robertson, John Reyburn, John 
Reyburn. Jr , Peter Ruby, Joel Sugg, John Suttles, Joshua Kates, Martin 
Kates, and such male tithabl^? as they may own, open and keep the said road 
in repair." 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 57 

Since the establishment of this road, so many alterations have been 
made, and so many new roads established, that it is impossible to lo- 
cate it with any degree o£ accur^y. Enough is known, however, to 
justify the conclusion that that portion of the Knob Lick Road to a 
point six or seven miles out, was the original Henderson and Clear 
Creek Road. The same difficulties which attended the opening of the 
first road established, were found in the opening of this road. Those 
who now ride over the broad smooth roads of the county little know 
the trials, troubles and hard work the handful of early settlers had 
in opening and clearing these long lines of public thoroughfares. It 
is not the purpose of this work to attempt the history of each road in 
the county, for that would prove an endless task, and so multiply its 
pages as to make it not only uninteresting, but cumbersome. We 
take it that the location of the main roads of the county leading out 
of the city, and into which all of the other roads of the county run, 
will be all that is required and all that is necessary. 

SPOTTSVILLE ROAD. 

In 1817 the road, which is now known as the Henderson and 
Spottsville Road, was established twenty-five feet wide from the Town 
to Race Creek, and from thence to Hopkins' Ferry on Green River. 

EVANSVILLE ROAD. 

During the same year Richard Hart, John Weller, Enoch Sevier 
and John Stayden were appointed to view a road from Henderson to 
Evansville. In July, 1818, one year after, John Weller, John Upp, 
Daniel Smith and Samuel Buttler were appointed to view the same 
route. In 1819, Daniel Smith, Daniel McBride, William Smith, 
John Williams, and Robert Terry, were appointed for the same pur- 
pose and every report made by the viewers proved objectionable to 
the land owners along the line. At the August term, 1822, a writ 
ad quod damnum issued and was tried by the following jurors : Robert 
Terry, W. R. Bovven, Walter C. Langley, Joel Lambert, W. H. In- 
gram, John Weller, Samuel H. Davis, Robert G. Slayden, James H. 
Lyne, Obediah Smith, Leonard H. Lyne and Thomas Herndon, who 
returned the following verdict. 

*' We, of the jury, find that John Smith, one of the contestants, is en- 
titled to five dollars and seventy-five cents. John Hart, to fifty dollars." 

An order was then made by the court, establishing this a public 
road, and the damages awarded by the jury to be paid out of the 
county levy for that year. 



58 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

MORGANFIELD ROAD. 

In 1822 it was— 

" Ordered by the court that the road leading from the Town of Hender- 
son to the county line enr6ute to Morganfield, in the direction of Davis Mill, 
on Highland Creek, be opened twenty feet wide, cleared, smoothed and es- 
tablished as one of the public roads of this Commonwealth, and that Charles 
Walden be appointed surveyor, and directed to open the same," 

Davis' Mill was located about one mile below the present cross- 
ing on the Smith Mills route. Some time after the location of this 
road, Clementine Wimsatt and others procured an order changing the 
crossing from Smith Mills to the Union County line, to the one used 
at the present time. For several years there was no bridge built 
across Highland Creek, and during the dry months it was easily 
forded. In times of high water, and during the winter and spring 
months, Mr. Wimsatt kept a ferryboat, which was used in crossing by 
stage and other vehicles. Since that time there have been many 
changes made in this road. 

DIAMOND ISLAND AND KNOB LICK ROAD. 

In 1823, a road from Diamand Island to the Knob Lick Road, 
fifteen feet wide, was established. This road followed the Ohio River 
to a point two miles below Alves Bluff, where it diverged at right 
angles, passing and crossing the Henderson and Morganfield Road at 
the present site of the Town of Geneva, from thence to Corydon and 
Cairo, and thence to the Knob Lick Road. 

CORYDON ROAD. 

In 1824 an order was passed to view a road fifteen feet wide, 
from the bridge on the Henderson and Morganfield Road, to intersect 
the Diamond Island Road beyond Grixon Brown's. This was done and 
Grixon Brown appointed surveyor. This road is now known as the 
Corydon Road, and leaves the Henderson and Morganfield Road just 
below the bridge over Canoe Creek, three miles from the city. 

VACANT LANDS APPROPRIATED. 

In the year 1831, an act of the General Assembly of Kentucky 
was passed appropriating all vacant lands in Henderson County to the 
improvement of roads. By this act the Register of the land office was 
directed to issue to Henderson County, free of costs, two hundred and 
fifty dollars worth of land warrants, containing five hundred acres 
each, which said warrants the County Courts were authorized to have 
surveyed upon any vacant or unappropriated land lying in the county, 
and carry the same into grant, and to then dispose of the same or any 
part thereof, and apply the proceeds to the improvement of the mail 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 59 

road, from Smith's Ferry, on Green River, to the Union County line. 
These lands were designed to be sold agreeably to that act, and for 
that purpose William D. Allison^, clerk of the County Court, at its 
January meeting, was' appointed agent for the county to dispose of the 
land warrants granted to the said court, with full power to locate said 
warrants, or sell or transfer the same. Subsequent to this act the 
County Court passed the following order : 

" Ordered that the land warrants granted to the County of Henderson by 
the Legislature be appropriated to the road from the Town of Henderson to 
the Union County line on the road leading to Morganfield, and that Thomas 
Towles be appointed Superintendent of the works." 

•'In the year 1834 the road from Henderson to the mouth of 
Green River was established fifteen feet wide, with John Weller, Sr., 
surveyor, who was directed to open the same and keep it in repair. 
In 1835, February 18, the Legislature passed an act, providing that 
all the lands within the Commonwealth east and north of the Tenn- 
essee River, vacant and unappropriated on the first day of August, 
1835, should be vested in the respective County Court of the counties 
in which said lands might lie, to be sold at five dollars per one hun- 
dred acres, and that the proceeds arising therefrom be appropriated 
to a fund constituted for the improvement of the roads and bridges 
of the county, and for no other purpose. 

STATE ROADS. 

In the same month of the same year another act was passed 
declaring the Smith's Ferry and Henderson, and Henderson and Mor- 
ganfield Roads a State road in connection with the road running 
from the mouth of Salt River to Shawneetown, Illinois. By this -act, 
the court was directed to lay off the road from Green River to the 
Union County line, into convenient precincts, and to allot to each 
Surveyor a sufficient number of hands to keep the road in good repair 
thirty feet wide and free from stumps. The County Court, under the 
provision of this act, was not allowed to alter or change this road. It 
seems the Commissioner of the County Court experienced some diffi- 
culty in finding vacant lands at that time, for at the October meeting 
of the Court the following order was passed : 

" All persons finding and informing the court of this county of any va- 
cant and unappropriated lands in this county, shall have a pre-emption right 
of buying the same from the court at ten per cent, less than the assessed 
value." 



60 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The revenue accruing to the county from this source, while not 
large, was nevertheless a considerable help, going towards the object 
for which it was intended. Aside from this, the court was not punctil- 
liously particular in appropriating the money arising from the sale of 
vacant lands, as the Legislature intended, for we find in 1836 the 
following order passed at the October Court of Claims :" 

" Ordered that the sum of five hundred dollars heretofore appropriated 
be placed to the order of the Board of Internal Improvements to be applied, 
in addition to tl\e sum of one thousand dollars, appropriated by the Legisla- 
ture at their session of 1835 and '36, for the improvements of the roads of Hen- 
derson County tolicused for the purpose of building a county poor liouse." 

However, in 1838, the following appropriations for the improve- 
ments of roads, were made : Three hundred to improve what was 
known as Robinson's flat, two and a half miles out on the Knob Lick 
Road, one hundred dollars to the road to Calhoun's Ferry, on Green 
River, the ferry having been changed from Smith's, four hundred on 
the road leading to Madisonville and four hundred on the road lead- 
ing to Morganfield. For these amounts the Commissioners appointed 
by the County Court to superintend the work were authorized to 
draw upon the agent of the Internal Revenue Fund. 

STATE ROAD TO HOPKINSVILLE. 

In 1841, an act, entitled an act to establish a State Road from 
Henderson through Madisonville to Hopkinsville, was approved Jan- 
uary 26. In obedience to this act, the County Court of Henderson 
County appointed Willie Sugg and Levin W. Arnett Commissioners 
for the county, to meet Mark- A. Bone and Frederick Wood, of Hop- 
kins County, and Reading Barfield, of Christian County, for the pur- 
pose of viewing the old road. At the October court the Commissioners 
reported having viewed the route, and at the November court follow- 
ing, they, together with Samuel Morton, Surveyor ; William H.Thom- 
asson and William Morton, chain carriers, and James Bishop, marker, 
were allowed such fees as the law prescribed should be paid. Mr. 
Morton was allow^ed for three days' work, the time spent by him in sur- 
veying the route through Henderson County. The report of the Com- 
missioners was adopted and the road established and recognized as a 
State road, although a route from Henderson to Madisonville had been 
established many years prior to that time, yet this was the first impor- 
tant recognition of the road. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 61 

FLOYD AND LOCKETT ROAD. 

In 1855 application was ma^e by Dr. W. B. Floyd and Thomas 
J. Lockett, for the opening and location of a public road from Thomas 
W. Royster's to intersect the Madisonville Road at a point between 
the old homestead of John T. Hopkins and Canoe Creek. On this 
application it was ordered by the court, that Enoch Spencer, William 
G. Denton, Joseph McMullen, and John D. Weller, be appointed 
viewers ; to this John T. Hopkins and S. J. Hawkins, through a por- 
tion of whose land it was proposed to locate the road, objected, and 
on their motion another set of viewers, to-wit : James Alves, Mad- 
ison M. Denton, John A. Randolph, Wyatt H. Ingram and W. R. Rudy, 
were appointed to view the road from Thomas W. Royster's to 
intersect the Madisonville Road at a point two or three miles 
further on toward Madisonville. The route, as proposed by Floyd and 
Lockett, began at Thomas W. Royster's and ran thence through the 
lands of Joseph McMuUin and Thomas Spencer, thence on the lines 
of Elizabeth Denton, John H. Spencer, Thomas B. Higginson, Samuel 
D. Denton, William G. Denton and Enoch Spencer, thence over the 
lands of Madison M. Denton, Thomas D. Talbott, Mary S. Talbott, 
Thomas J. Lockett, and on to the old Slover Flat Road, thence over 
the lands of Mrs. Chinoe Smith, to Sugg's corner on Alves' line, thence 
on this line to his corner, thence on Edgar Sugg's line to the corner 
of the horse-lot on the Edgar Sugg's farm, now owned by Gabe D. 
Sugg, thence over the land of S. J. Hawkins to what is known by the 
name of the Agnew route, thence with said Agnew's route to the 
Madisonville Road leading to Henderson. On the twenty-fifth day of 
February, 1856, the viewers reported and summons was directed to 
issue against the land owners, a writ of ad quod dam?ium was issued 
and tried as to all except Hopkins, in whose case the jury hung. 
June, 1856, the apjplicants and J. T. Hopkins entered into agreement 
that Y. E. Allison, Judge of the County Court, might go upon the land 
of said Hopkins and assess the damages. This the Judge very sensi- 
bly declined to do. August, 1856, Hopkins and Hawkins moved to 
quash the returns. This motion was overruled and the road ordered 
to be opened and established as a public road thirty feet wide from 
Thomas W. Royster's to the Henderson and Madisonville Road at 
John T. Hopkins', and over and along the route reported by the 
viewers. It was further ordered that the expense of building five 
bridges reported to be necessary, was too great for the precinct or pre- 
cincts of the road. To all of this Hopkins and Hawkins objected 
and prayed an appeal to the Circuit Court, which was granted At the 



62 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



December term of the Circuit Court, a decree was rendered reversing 
for sufficient reasons, the proceeding of the County Court, so far as 
Hopkins and Hawkins were concerned. On the twenty-ninth day of 
October another writ of ad quod da7}iniim was awarded by the hi^^her 
court and was tried upon the premises by the following jurors : J. E. 
Jackson, Larkin White, R. E. Moss, Thomas McFarland, P. D. Neg- 
ley, VV. S. Pamplin, James S. Hicks, E. T. Cheatham, John Walden, 
James White, W. B. Smith and J. W. Tapp. This jury returned the 



following 



VERDICT : 



*'John Hopkins, for damages, one thousand and seventj-seven dollars; 
S, J. Hawkins, for same, two hundred and eighty-one dollars and seventy-five 
cents." 

April, 1858, Thomas J. Lockett, Wm. Lockett and Andrew Agnew 
agreed with the County Court to have three of the five bridges built at 
no expense to the county, whereupon it was ordered that the road be 
opened as first directed. This proceeding was still resisted by Hop- 
kins and Hawkins, but finally compromised. Then the road was 
established and laid off into one precinct, with Thomas Spencer as 
overseer. There was never, perhaps, a public county road established 
which engendered so much bitterness of feeling and had such a bill of 
costs attaching to it as was the case in this Floyd and Lockett Road. 
For three years it was fought in the courts, and a host of witnesses 
summoned to testify. Eminent lawyers were employed on both sides, 
and every technicality known to the law was taken advantage of by 
both parties. The road cost the co nty a large amount of money ; nev- 
ertheless, it has been a blessing greatly enjoyed by the inhabitants of 
" Frog Island " and others adjacent to the line. 

A NUISANCE. 

The old road service, or system, established by law for road-work- 
ing, was always regarded by most persons as one faulty in the extreme, 
and not more than one remove from a nuisance. All male laboring 
persons of the age of sixteen years or more, except such as were mas- 
ters of two or more male laboring slaves, of the age of sixteen years 
or more, were appointed by the court to work on some public road. 
Every person so appointed was required, upon notice of the Surveyor, 
placed over him, to attend with proper tools for clearing the road, or 
do such work as might be allotted him, or to find some other person 
equally able to work in his room. In case of his failure to attend 
when summoned, he was required to pay the sum of seven shillings, 
sixpence for every day's offense. If the delinquent was an infant or 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 63 

minor, the sum was to be paid by his parent, guardian or master, or, 
if a slave or servant, by his overseer or master. The amount could 
be recovered by the overseer of the road before any Justice of the 
Peace within his county, and one-half of the fine was to go to the 
overseer of the road. For this work the laborers were entitled to 
credit on their account of good citizenship. This continued until 1821, 
when payments were then made for the use of teams and implements. 

DUTY OF ROAD SURVEYORS. 

The surveyors of roads occupied an unenviable position, for to him, 
and him alone, did the traveling public look for a good and safe 
foundation to travel over. It was made his duty to superintend the 
road in his precinct and to see that the same was cleared and kept in 
good order and repair, and upon his failure to do this, he was sub- 
jected to a fine of any sum not exceeding ten dollars, nor less than 
two dollars and fifty cents, to be recovered by indictment. For years 
and years, at each term of the Court of Quarter Sessions, and then 
the Circuit Court, it was the custom, whether from the force of habit, 
or spite, for at least two-thirds of the road surveyors to be summoned 
to answer an indictment or indictments found against them, for neg- 
lecting some part of the road under their charge. 

Road overseers, as they were called, were subjected to an ordeal 
in early times that would hardly hold these piping times of limitless 
civilization. Yet, those people who paved the way to a glorious and un- 
thought of future, we must bow our heads in humble acknowledgment, 
that while public matters are at this day more systematically arranged, 
there is more wealth behind, more of everything conducive to success ; 
yea, more; that had we to-day, as a people, to undergo what was their 
lot, we should miserably fail. We must confess that the children and 
grandchildren have not inherited the hardy, indomitable spirit of pio- 
neer manhood. 



CHAPTEPx VII. 



GETTING READY FOR WORK — PRISON HOUSE TO BE BUILT, ETC. SUICIDE 

OF J. ELMAS DENTON, JAILER. 



^ 



T the July meeting, 1709, of the County Court, initiatory steps 
were taken looking to the building of a prison house of suitable 
size for those times. General Samuel Hopkins and John Husband 
were appointed a committee to investigate and report a plan for such 
a building as in their judgment would meet the views of the court. 
At the August term of the said court, the committee made the follow- 
ing report. The report is copied verbatim and was evidently written 
by the learned architect who furnished the plan of the then royal 
lockup: 

"The Commissioners appointed to report a plan of a "goal," and the 
necessary repairs of the school house to make it convenietit for holding the 
courts therein, reports the plan of the "goal " as follows: the lower room to be 
twelve feet in the clear, built of square timbers ten inches thick, each wall three 
double, with the middle timbers standing upright, the floors double ten inches 
thick crossing each other, the loft in the same manner, the upper room of 
square logs eight inches thick, both stories eight feet high and clabboard roof, 
and the necessarv^ grating for the windows and locks for the doors, to be doub- 
led and fifty dollars to repair the school house. 

"SAMUEL HOPKINS,^ 
''JOHN HUSBAND, 

" Commissioners . 

WHEREUPON IT WAS 

" Ordered, that a jail be built on the Public Square in the Town of Hen- 
derson. Abraham I^andcrs, Jacob Barnett and John Husband arc appointed 
Commissioners to let the building and the additions to the school house, to 



66 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the lowest undertaker; provided, however, such alterations do not materially 
exhaust the amount oi funds insight and report." 

At the September meeting, the Commissioners reported having 
let the building of the jail to Jonathan Anthony, for the sum of three 
hundred and thirty-nine dollars, to be built according to the plan 
and specifications reported. This report was adopted, and the Com- 
missioners continued with instructions to make further efforts to let 
the additions to the old school house, to any person who would un- 
dertake the work, for a sum not exceeding fifty dollars. This, the first 
public building in Henderson County, was soon begun and completed. 

VIEWERS APPOINTED. 

At the February term of the court, and the first court held after 
the completion of the new jail, the following order passed : 

" On motion of Jonathan Anthony, it is ordered that Adam Rankin, 
John Standley and John Sprinkle gentlemen to view the house built by said 
Anthony, for the public jail of the county, and make report of the repairs to 
be made to said house in order to make it sufficently strong for the safe keep- 
ing of prisoners of the court." 

Agreeably to this order the Committee of the court did view 
the jail, and returned to the court the following report: 

viewers' report. 
" By order of the court we proceeded to view the jail, and find the doors 
of the lower story to be about three and a half inches thick, not well spiked, 
and that part of the hinge which goes into the log for the door to hang on, 
does not go through to clinch, the facings of the doors are not spiked, the sta- 
ples are not sufficient, some of the logs of the upper floor of the under story are 
loose and ought to be made fast ; the locks we can't say anything about, as 
thev are not at the doors, the bars of the window not an inch thick, the door of 
the upper story not well spiked, nor the facing, which ought to be done; the 
windows not so large as called for, and the facing not well spiked, some of the 

logs not squared and not sufficiently close. 

'• ADAM RANKIN. 

"JOHN HUSBANDS, 

'*JOHN SPRINKLE." 

" A FAULTY GOAL." 

From this report the court determined that Mr. Anthony, the 
contractor, had not complied with his contract, but, on the contrary, 
had failed to convince them that he was a respectable mechanic. 
However, when the new jail had been completed, it was the pride of 
the town, not so much owing to its architectural beauty and finish, as 
to the fact of its being the first public building in the county. It had 
two stories and two doors, one door opening into the lower story, the 
other a trap-door opening into the upper story. It had one small 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. ' 67 

window or light-hole in the second story. The lower story was called 
a dungeon, the upper the debtors' prison, where persons arrested for 
debt were confined. A comrtfon split ladder furnished the poor 
debtor a pathway from the dungeon to his abode above. There was 
no fire-place in the jail, so during cold weather those confined in it 
were compelled to go to bed, keep up a lively calesthenic drill or 
freeze. This little log prison house, no better than a majority of the 
cattle stables of the county at this time, was received in 1800, and re- 
cognized as headquarters for criminals and debtors, until proving in- 
sufficient. 

•' A NEW JAIL." 

Was ordered to be built in 1807. From accounts on file in the office 
of the County Clerk, it is safe to say that during each year of its ex- 
istence more money was paid out by the county for jail guards than 
the miserable little concern cost originally. This insignificant hut 
was located on Court Square on the spot where the front gate now 
stands. This second prison was built in 1808 and was of the follow- 
ing dimensions : 

*' The dungeon for criminals sixteen feet square, the sides of hewed logs 
ten inches in diameter and three logs thick, the floors of the same kind of logs, 
and two logs thick, laid at right angles to each other, the inner door made ot 
timber three inches thick spiked with iron spikes three inches apart, hung on 
strong and sufficient iron hinges with staples and two strong bars to secure 
the door on the outside ; the outside of the door of the same dimension, and 
finished in the manner as the inner door, except that it shall be secured with a 
strong jail lock with a window nine inches wide, and two feet in length, se- 
cured with a strong iron grate. Hie debtors' apartment immediately above and 
of the same dimensions as the dungeon, appendant to the dungeon on the side 
out of which the door may be cut, a room sixteen feet square of hewed oak logs, 
one story high, with a good plank floor and loft, a brick or stone chinmey in 
the end, with a door or window in the front of the house, and completely and 
comfortablv finished for a guard room. It was further ordered that each of the 
before described looms be covered with good jointed shingles and lastly that 
the dungeon, debtors' room and room for the guard, be begun and finished in 
a workman-like manner, on or before the first day of October, 1808. Benja- 
mine Talbott, having agreed, with the consent of the court, to do the above de- 
scribed work, and for which he is to give bond with security in the Clerk's 
office, with covenant, agreeing with the order of the court in this particulai, he 
is permitted to make use toward completing this work, of such iron taken from 
the late jail as he may think proper." 

This jail was used until the year 1820, and during its- twelve years 
of existence was never regarded as a safe prison, and was a continual 
expense to the county. Accounts running from fifty to one hundred 
dollars were presented annually for guard service, and it may be 



'f 



68 * HISTORY OF HEND*ERSON COUNTY, KY. 

safely said that five times the cost of the building was paid for guard 
service alone. These claims continually coming in, awakened the 
Magistrates to the importance of building a stronger house, so at 
the October Court of Claims, 1816, five hundred dollars were levied 
for that purpose. In 1817, '18, '19 and '20, additional levies were 
made for the same purpose. In the year 1818 Ambrose Barbour, 
Fayette Posey and John Holloway were appointed commissioners to 
have built a good and sufficient jail. They presented a plan with 
specifications, which were approved and adopted. A contract, on the' 
the twelfth day of June, 1819, was entered into with Francis Ham- 
mill, the then leading contractor in the town, and for the sum of five 
hundred dollars, but from some unknown cause was annuled, and 
another made on the third day of September, with William R. Bowen, 
at, and for the same price, according to the copy and minute of the 
court, but for the sum of three thousand five hundred dollars, accord- 
ing to the contract signed and entered into between the parties. That 
our readers may know the character of the building which stood on 
the brow of the Court Hill for forty-three years, the specifications 
adopted by the Commissioners are here inserted : 

THE THIRD JAIL. 

"The house to be of brick, forty feet long, twenty-six feet wide, two 
stories high, the tower story to be nine feet high between the sleepers and joists 
or floors, and the upper story to be eight feet high between the floors ; they 
must be divided in the lower story by a brick partition midway the house. 
The lower story two and a half bricks thick, the upper story two bricks thick in 
the walls, and two bricks thick in the partition, the underpinning to be stone 
to the tables, the upper room to be divided into three rooms or cells, each room 
to be 11x12 feet in the clear, the outer wall of which to be lined with timbers 
six inches thick, upright, to be faced crosswise with two-inch oak plank, and 
at least two inches thick and nailed or spiked to the timbers. The parti- 
tion walls, of and between each of the upper rooms or cells, to be made with 
upright timbers, eight inches thick and faced on each side, crossing with two- 
inch oak plank, as aforesaid. The lower floor to be laid with one and one-halt 
inch oak plank, with strong sleepers, the plank to be seasoned and jointed, but 
need not be dressed. The floors to the second story to be laid with timbers, 
close, ten inches thick and faced with two -inch oak plank, seasoned and joined 
as aforesaid, above and below the floor. The upper rooms above to be made 
with ten-inch timbers, as aforesaid, to be taced cross-wise below with two-inch 
oak plank. There must be a passageway to the upper room, six feet wide, made 
with ten-inch timbers, and faced with two-inch oak plank, as aforesaid; on 
each side, the timbers in all cases, must be placed upright and close together, 
and the oak plank for the facings must be seasoned and joined, but need not be 
dressed. To the lower rooms there must be an outside door, and window of 
eighteen lights to each room, opposite to each and midway of each room, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 69 

except the room in which the stairway is run up. The stairs to be tour feet 
wide and the railing strong ; the steps to be made of oak planks one and one- 
half inches thick, seasoned and joinied. The door to enter the passage above 
Tnust be a falling or ti'ap-door of two-inch oak plank, seasoned and jointed 
double, and spiked crosswise together, to be locked below with a double bolted 
padlock, and strong hinges let into the timber above. The doors to each of the 
cells above to be made of sheet-iron at least one-eight of an inch thick, faced 
with a door of two-inch oak plank, spiked with strong iron spikes, 
and the facing of each door to be of the same material and thickness, fastened 
to the timbers, and plank facing with strong iron spikes. The locks to each 
of the cell doors must be locked with large and strong locks outside. There 
must be an iron netting above each cell door of one inch square, twelve inches 
hio-h and as wide, as the door. The windows above to be opposite each cell 
door, of eight lights each, to be gurded with an iron netting one inch square, 
and the facings must be iron as aforesaid. There must be a chimney at each* 
end of the jail, with a fire-place in each room below, to be placed outside of the 
wall above, so as not to weaken the wall to the outside cells. The materials of 
every kind must be of the best kind, and the whole work must be done in a 
strong, substantial manner. It is to be, and is understood, that the upright 
timbers are to be let into the timbers above and below with a tenant or groove 
of two inches deep in the whole width. The roof to be made in the usual way, 
for instance, as the Court House, in form and material. The rooms in the 
first story and partition must be plastered, as the Court Room of the Court 
House." 

This building wa.s located on Court Hill in the rear of the Court 
House, and in 1820, was completed and received from the contrac- 
tors by the County Court. Outside of necessary repairs, it was never 
of much expense to the county, and was never broken but twice in 
its history of forty-three years. During that time many of the hard- 
est characters known to the law were incarcerated in it. 

There are incidents connected with this old building interesting 
and amusing; there are also painful truths, which it is not the purpose 
of this book to tell about. In 1853 the following order was passed, 
which will no doubt amuse the reader : 

''Ordered that the jailer of Henderson County purchase for W J. 
PhiHps, a prisoner in the county jail on the charge of felony, one comfort, 
an i take fire three times a day, in a pan, for him to warm by, and to guard the 
fire while said Philips is warming." 

A NEW JAIL TO BE BUILT. 

For several years prior to 1860, great complaint had been made 
to the court concerning the county jail, and at the January, 1860, 

court, 

*'Itwas ordered that John H. Lambert, William B. Beatty, Barak Bras- 
hear, Y. E. Allison, and L. W. Brown, be appointed commissioners to exam- 
ine the jail building of the county, and report whether the same can be heated 



70 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 



bv any safe means, and if not, and they think a new jail ought to be built to 
report a plan and the probable cost of the work " 

The Commissione'rs returned their report to the March court fol- 
lowing, and thereupon the Magistrates of the county were summoned 
to consider the same. In April the Magistrates met, and after hav- 
ing considered the premises for which they had been summoned, 

" It was ordered that William B. Beattj, Y. E Allison, F E Walker 
Barak Brashear. and Mat J. Christopher be appointed commissioners of the 
county to have made and report a suitable plan and specificaiions for a new 
jail and dwellin.^^ house for the jail, the cost of the same to be fixed at cash 
prices. It was further ordered that P. A Blackwell, F, E Walker and P 
H. Lockett be appointed a committee to ascertain and report what amount of 
money the county may have to bo.row, and upon what' terms the same can 
be secured, upon the credit of the county for the purpose aforesaid." 

The Commissioners appointed to report a plan and specifications, 
did so, but from some cause the report did not suit the minds of the 
Magistrates, and thereupon another set of commissioners, to wit • 
James B. Lyne, Edward D. McBride, and C. W. Hutchen were ap- 
. pointed to draft a plan of a good and sufficient jail, and report at this 
court. Five cents on the one hundred dollars was levied, to be col- 
lected and paid into the jail fund. At the November court, 1862, the 
Commissioners reported a plan and specifications prepared by F. W 
Carter, of Louisvil'e, an architect of considerable reputation, and the 
same were adopted and approved by the court. On motion Mr. 
Carter was allowed one hundred and fifty dollars for his work. On 
motion it was 

"Ordered that C. W. Hutchen, Y. E. Allison, F. E. Walker. E D Mc- 
Bride, and Jesse Lame be appointed a committee to le^ out the building of the 
new jail to the lowest and best bidder and superintend the building as it pro- 
gresses." ® ^ 

They were also directed and empowered to borrow money on the 
credit of the county at any rate of interest i^iot exceeding 8 per cent. 
In 18G4 this jail was completed, and received, and Y. E. Allison ap- 
pointed and directed to sell the old building. The present residence 
of the jailer was built at that time, and in its rear stood the prison 
which was thought to be strong enough for all purposes. Around the 
prison was a brick wall fifteen or twenty feet high, which was thou-ht 
to be amply sufficient to prevent the escape of any one who might 
break jail, but this theory proved to be incorrect, and the jail proved 
to be more vulnerable than the old one, which had been torn down. 
After some years it became notorious, and regarded as totally unlit 
for the purpose for which it was intended. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 71 

STILL ANOTHER JAIL. 

The Magistrates, in commission June, 1871, by order appointed 
C. Bailey, Isom Johnson, and Jackson McClain commissioners to ex- 
amine the jail building. They were authorized to employ skilled ad- 
vice, and if in their opinion the building could be repaired, to report 
what repairs were necessary, and the probable cost, and if in the 
event the prison could not be made secure, then to report a plan, 
specifications and probable cost for a new prison house. The Com- 
missioners soon determined that the jail standing at that time was 
worthless, the timbers having rotted, and at no time was it such a 
house as to command the respect of an expert jail bird. They de- 
termined that a prison large enough and strong enough should be 
built, and to better do this, they visited several large cities and made 
personal examinations of prison houses, built upon the most modern 
plan, with a view to convenience, strength and security against jail 
breakers. After thoroughly posting themselves they reported to the 
August term, 1871, as the result of their labors, a plan and specifica- 
tions which received the approval of the court. The court in session 
at that time was composed of the following named Magistrates : G. W. 
Griffin, J. E. Denton, J. M. Johnson, Jesse Basket, James M. Stone, 
Asa F. Parker, Ben F. Gibson, J. A. Priest, Green W. Pritchett, C. 
S. Royster, Hiram Turner, J. F. Toy, William S. Cooper and William 
W. Shelby. The Commissioners were instructed to advertise for bids 
and contract for building the new jail, to contain at least sixteen 
wrought iron cells, and if, in their opinion, the walls standing at that 
time would not do to be lined with iron, and they should deem it best 
to build the jail entirely new. This they were authorized to do, hav- 
ing the walls built of blue limestone, or good hard well burnt brick, 
and lined with iron as in their opinion would be best for the interest of 
the county, taking into consideration the cost and durability of the 
work. At this same term, to wit : August, 1871, bonds of the county, 
to the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars, w^ere authorized to be 
issued bearing 10 per cent, interest, payable semi-annually, and re- 
deemable after five years at the pleasure of the county. November 23, 
eight thousand dollars additional bonds were directed to be issued. 
A number of bids were received by the Commissioners, and upon a 
careful and close investigation the contract for building the jail was 
awarded to Haugh & Co., of Indianapolis, Indiana. Subsequently the 
contract was assigned to Norris & Hinckly, who completed the build- 
ing at and for the sum of thirty-three thousand four hundred dollars, 
including all alterations and changes. Major J. M. Stone, who was 



72 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

appointed superintendent of the work, and also a committee to have 
printed and dispose of the bonds of the county. He did his work 
well, and paid into the county treasury between sixteen and seventeen 
hundred dollars premium, received upon the face of the bonds. Major 
Stone and Asa F. Parker were appointed a committee to. sell and have 
removed the old jail when it was determined to build the present jail 
entirely new from the ground up. It was sold to the City of Hender- 
son for a small price, and all of the material of value used in build- 
ing the present handsome city building. On November 30, 1872, final 
payment was made the contractors. This prison when completed 
was thought to be invulnerable. It was built upon the most approved 
plans of prison architecture, including strength and durability, and 
yet it has been broken or cut through as often, or perhaps oftener, 
than any of its predecessors, showing conclusively that there is nothing 
that tools will make that tools will not unmake. One of the saddest in- 
cidents in history is associated with this jail. In December, 1875, dur- 
ing the official term of J. Elmus Denton, a high-strung, impetuous, 
honorable gentleman, the inmates of the jail effected their escape. 
The excitement attending the escapade prayed heavily upon his 
mind, and completely unnerved and prostrated his sensitive, though 
fearless spirit. He was not to be intimidated by a hundred men, but 
the censure of the public was more than he could withstand. He 
thought of nothing else, he allowed his imagination to run wild, and 
while his friends were far from censuring him, he yet imagined that 
they did, and within his mind resolved to take his own life rather than 
face, as he apprehended, a reproving and complaining public. On 
the morning of December 18, he walked, as was usual for him, up on 
Main Street, and while there settled several accounts that he owed. 
Returning to the jail, and without intimating to a soul on earth, or 
taking a farewell look or kiss of his devoted wife, went immediately 
to a room in the second story of the residence, bolted the door, and 
fired a leaden ball through his brain. He fell upon the floor and ex- 
pired immediately. His wife hearing the report, rushed to the room 
door, little anticipating what her eyes would soon behold. Other 
friends came, and before an entrance could be effected the door had 
to be broken in. Upon the opening of the door there lay the noble 
frame of J. E. Denton, enhearscd in death. The scene was a terri- 
ble one, completely unnerving those present. Major J. M. Stone was 
potified and immediately caused a jury to be empanneled for the pur- 
pose of holding an inquest. Upon the body was found the note 
written a short while before the fatal shot, which settled the question 
as to the cause. He admitted his weakness, and hoped that his 
death would atone for the jail escapades. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



T HAVE stated in the first chapter, that when the first commis- 
^ sioned justices of the County of Henderson met, that meeting was 
held in Bradley's Tavern in June, 1779. After organizing both the 
Court of Quarter Sessions and County Court, the respective courts 
adjourned to meet in the old school house, as it was called, without 
defining its location. This old hut, as it was nothing more, was leased, 
or perhaps taken for the use of the two courts. Of this, however, the 
clerk failed to leave any testimony. Whether it was used as a school 
house during the interim of the courts, and vacated by the schools at 
those times, is a fact we shall never know more about than is now 
known. This house was adjudged inadequate for the purposes of the 
courts, and a committee was created for the purpose of having such 
repairs and additions made to it as would make it both comfortable 
and convenient. The school house, as I am best informed, stood in 
the woods, corner of Main and Second Streets, on the spot where now 
stands the two-story brick owned by Joseph Adams' estate, and occu- 
pied byThos. Evans as a grocery store. The Commissioners appointed 
to investigate its primitive build and condition, were instructed to bring 
the cost of improving the house within the limit of a fifty-dollar bill, and 
by no means to exceed that amount. The means of the infant county at 
that time, as well- as for many years thereafter, were extremely lim- 
ited, and to repeat a common expression, " A cut four-pence in the 
eye of a pioneer was as big as a buffalo." On this account the greatest 
caution had to be exercised in creating debts, even for necessary im- 
provements. The people were not taxed heavily, but there was no 
money of any consequence, and no commercial relations to attract 
capital. The Commissioners experienced great difficulty in getting the 



74 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

school house fitted up as the Justices wished, and whatever became 
of it will never be known, from the fact the records from a few months 
after this to 1816 are lost, therefore the story of the old school house 
must come to a sudden and unsatisfactory termination. From old, 
worn, mutilated papers found tied in a shapeless bundle, with strings 
which have rotted from absolute old age, I have discovered enough to 
know that the courts of the county continued to hold their meetings 
in the old school or some other similar house until the year 1814, 
when they took possession and were installed, in all of the pomp and 
ceremony attaching to occasions of that kind, in their new Temple of 
Justice built on the site now occupied by the present Court House. 

THE FIRST COURT HOUSE. 

At the January term of the County Court, held in the year 1813, 
Daniel McBride, Samuel Hopkins, Jr., James M. Hamilton and Am- 
brose Barbour were appointed commissioners to inquire into the ex- 
pediency of building a new Court House, and if expedient, to report 
a plan and specifications for the information of the court This was 
soon done, and the plans and specifications drawn and written by 
Samuel Hopkins, Jr., were adopted, and an order entered, that a 
Court House be built of brick according to that plan with the varia- 
tions in the same, that there should be no gallery or jury rooms be- 
low, and such other changes in the plan of the inside of said build- 
ing, as the court should think proper. The aforesaid Commissioners 
were authorized and instructed to contract for said building:, and 
superintend the work during its progress. 

On the sixth day of February, 1813, the Commissioners en- 
tered into contract with Philip Barbour, at and for the sum of five 
thousand one hundred and forty dollars to build the said Court House 
and deliver the keys to the Commissioners, as per plans and specifi- 
cations. The specifications of this house are reproduced, not for their 
intrinsic worth, but as an architectural literary ponderosity worthy of 
perusal. It is a settled fact that but few persons will be interested, 
and perhaps but f6vv will undertake the perusal of this long-winded 
string of some man's brain, which had b^en neglected for a long time, 
and was offered this opportunity of unloading. We doubt very much 
if the specifications furnished for the Capital at Washington consumed 
more space or were more minute in each and every particular. Here 
they are : 

SPECIFICATIONS. 
" This house to be built of brick made in moulds not above nine inches 
long, four and three-eighths inches wide, and two and three-quarter inches 
thick or deep, well and truly made, and burnt and laid in mortar made in the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. V5 

best manner from cement. The house to be fortj-four feet long, including 
the walls, and twenty-eight feet wide in the clear — that is inclusive of the 
walls, from the foundation to the sm-face of the earth of, say one foot at the 
base, to be three bricks in length thick, from thence to the water table one foot 
to be two and a half bricks length thick, from ihence to the joists fourteen feet 
to be two bricks lengths thick, thence to tlie top of the wall eight feet of one 
and a half brick lengths thick. The gable ends to be one brick length thick, 
a chimney at the one, and with a fire-place in the upper story of an appropri- 
ate size, for the room for which it is intended, being twenty-eight feet square. 
There shall be two doors below in the middle of each side of the house, that 
is one on each side of equal length with the top of the windows, and made of 
two folds of panels to each, each fold containing at least four panels, and 
worked on both sides. The said doors are to be of a thickness suitable to the 
size thereof, there shall be eight windows in the lower story, four of twenty- 
four lights each, and four of twenty lights each. The glass of good quality 
and ten by twelve inches in size, which windows are to be placed, the larger 
ones in the sides at equal distance from the doors, and ends of the house, and 
the smaller four in the two ends There shall be ten windows in the upper 
story of twenty lights each, of the same size glass, to be placed six in the two 
sides and four in the two ends. The frames for the said doors and windows 
shah be the most durable timber, especially the doors, with double architraves, 
worked out of the solid and good stone sills, suitable for the doors, to be 
worked and prepared and fitted in said doors, in lieu of so much of the frame 
thereof. The house to be well corniced with a plain cornice, proportioned to 
the size of the house in heiglith. The rafters to be well framed into the joist, 
and of suitable size to their length and the magnitude of the building and cov- 
ered with shingles well nailed on sheathing plank joined together. The shin- 
gles not to be more than four inches wide eighteen inches long and not less 
than five-eights of an inch thick at the but, well jointed and rounded, to be 
made of cypress, catalpa, sassafras or walnut, or some kind of wood equally 
durable in the opinion of the Commissioners, and shall show only one-third 
part of their length or less. The inside of the building below siiall be well 
floored from the Judge's stand so tar forward as to include the lawyers. The 
bar to be of well quartered plank, made of oak or ash timbers, and the balance 
of the floor to be well laid -with brick placed edgewise. The Judge's seat to have 
a good flight of steps to ascend each end, to be ornamented with appropriate 

hand rails and banisters . the space for said seat shall be feet, well floored 

as below said seat, with a strong seat quite across, fitted into the Avail with 
arms raised thereon, imitating chairs, which are to be three in number. The 
front of said seat shall be ornamented with hand rails and banisters, with boards 
or tables whereon to write or put papers, etc. The newel posts to be capped 
otYwith appropriate mouldings, the hand rails and banisters to be ornamented, 
the first with mouldings and the latter to be turned in a lathe. The jury boxes 
to be four in number, and the lawyers' bar shall be made, formed and placed 
according to the directions of the Commissioners. They shall be made and 
composed of railing and banisters, as above mentioned, and shall have boards 
or tables whereon to write, put papers, etc., fixed on the front part of the bar, 
a suitable and convenient stair-case is to be formed with necessary hand-rails, 



76 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

banisters and ceiling, to ascend the second story, which story shall be di- 
vided into three rooms, two at the end of the house above the Judge's seat, and 
one at the other end, of such size as the Commissioners may direct, with a fire- 
place as aforesaid to the larger room, leaving a passage or entry between the 
rooms of each end across the width of the liouse, so jilanncd and i^laced and 
made as the Commissioners may direct. The upper floor, shall as the lower 
floor, be made of good lieart plank, of quartered oak or ash timber, at least 
one and one-quarter inch thick, tongued and grooved together, not less than 
one inch thick, quartered and plained on both sides, except the swinging pe- 
tition, which is to be ofpanneled work, and one and one-half inches thick, and 
furnished with bolts for fastenings. The upper doors shall be six pannels each, 
and well faced, each inside door and one outside door are to have suitable 
knob locks, proportioned to the size of the door, and the use. of said locks. 
The other outside door is to be well secured with a crOss-bar. The windows to 
the lower story shall be furnished with goodpanneled window shutters, at least 
one and one-quarter inches thick, each window to have two folds of three pan- 
nels each well hinged with suitable fastenings or hooks and catches on the 
inside thereof ; there shall be suitable chair-boards and wash-boards, both to 
the lower and upper rooms with appropriate mouldings. The ends of all the 
naked flooring shall be arched over on the brick work, so as to put on others 
hereafter without injuring the walls. Blind arches shall also be turned over 
the lintels of the doors and windows for the like purpose. The inside walls of 
the lower and upper rooms shall be plastered with good mortar — that is the 
work shall be well done, the plastering below shall be painted or stained as 
the Commissioners may direct, instead of being whitewashed. The joists of 
the lower and upper rooms shall be ceiled with good plank, not above four 
teen inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick at the best. The roof, 
windows and all the inside work of timber or plank shall be painted as the 
Commissioners shall direct. Finally all the timber and material of this build- 
ing shall be of the best quality, and the work done in the best possible manner. 
The walls of the house shall be built and the roof put on by the fifteenth day of 
October. 1813. The stair-case put up, the rooms of the upper story, the 
Judge's seat and lawyers' bar finished, and jury boxes made on or before the 
first day of April, 1814, and the whole work completed on or betore the first 
day of October, 1S14. The Commissioners reser\'e to themselves the right of 
directing the dimensions of the frame work and difl'erent timbers for the Court 
House.". 

Mr. Barbour, the contractor, accepted the specifications, clearly 
of the opinion no doubt, that no misunderstanding could arise, if 
length and silly description in an instrument of writing was to be 
considered. He entered into bond with James Bell and Samuel Hop- 
kins, gentlemen, securities. The new temple was completed accord- 
ing to contract and dedicated to Justice, as perhaps the most magnifi- 
cent edifice to be found anywhere in the western wilds. It soon be- 
came the sine qua no7i, and at once most interesting to the inhabitants 
in general, A two-story brick house with a dwarfish bell on its roof, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 77 

encased in a contrivance similar to a pigeon house, was one of those 
institutions too seldom seen to be hooted at. It was believed Justice 
came from this new temple m&re evenly balanced than when deliv- 
ered from the old school house. Attorneys donned new clothes, jurors 
were required at least to wash their faces before entering its sacred 
walls, while eloquence grew grand, and was dished out with lavish 
liberality. Yea, be it known, this costly structure, which came nigh 
being written to death in the beginning, seated upon a beautiful 
mound, a mound seemingly built for that purpose, was then the chief 
among the sights of the town. But the beauty of this new house, 
looming up in the morning sunshine and decreasing with the early 
twilight, was impaired by great forest trees in full leaves — old mon- 
archs, whose sap had left the root for the last time, undergrowth, 
stumps and other unsightly surroundings. To remedy this, at the 
November County Court, 1815, the first order concerning the im- 
provement of the Public Square was passed. It was " ordered that 
the nnprovement of the Court House square be let to the lowest bid- 
der. That the trees be topped, the ground grubbed and cleared of 
the brush, undergrowth, underwood and dead trees, and inclosed with 
a post and rail fence made of catalpa, sassafras, locust, mulberry or 
Cyprus timber, and large blocks placed at the four places facing the 
four sides of the Court House, of size to cross the fence. This work 
must be done in the best workman-like manner. JVo security will be 
required^ but the Commissioners will keep the money until the wotk is com- 
pleted:' 

DOWN ON AMUSEMENTS. 

For several years, indeed from its completion, the large room in 
th^ second story of this Court House was used for all public pur- 
poses. It was the only hall in the town ; shows, concerts, balls, par- 
ties, dances and church entertainments were all held in this room. 
From some cause, which the records failed to explain, the Magis- 
trates in 1S20 became dissatified with this course,' and by order, 
placed the property under the control of the jailer, with peremptory 
instructions to clear the Court House of all incumbrances and en- 
croachments. The jailer, failing to comprehend the meaning of the 
court, a subsequent order, explanatory of the first, was passed, to wit : 
" The order heretofore passed by this court, directing the jailer to 
take possession of the Court House, and to remove therefrom all in- 
cumbrances and encroachments, is construed to apply only to play 
actors, but the house may be used for any decent uses or purposes." 



78 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

This order was a terrible blow to the few professionals who 
traveled in those early times, and whether it originated from a reli- 
gious opposition or dissatisfaction with one or more exhibitions, the 
record fails to tell. It is sufficient to know that it was a sweeping 
order, and if for the punishment of one or more troupes, eventuated 
in shutting out the whole fraternity. The new Court House was used 
until the year 1S22, without any expense to the county, but at the 
April County Court the following order was entered of record : " Or- 
dered that Obediah Brown and Daniel McBride be appointed com- 
missioners to have the Court House underpinned with brick where 
decayed, and a brick fioor laid down and the judge's seat underpinned 
with brick." 

This building: continued in the service of the courts of the 
county until 1843. 

A SECOND COURT HOUSE BUILT. 

At the x'^pril court, 1840, it was determined that the Court House 
was insufficient for the purpose of the county, whereupon it was " Or- 
dered that Thomas Towles, John G. Holloway, William Rankin, 
George Brown, James Powell and John D. Anderson be and the\- are 
hereby appointed a committee to inquire into the expediency and 
propriety of building a new Court House for this county; that they 
report apian for the same and the probable cost thereof, a majority 
of all the Justices in commission being present and concurring 
therein." 

At the following October court the committee reported. Where- 
upon it was adjudged both expedient and necessary that a new Court 
House of sufficient capacity to meet the demands of the times should 
be built, but the plan and cost reported by the committee was re- 
jected. Yet the court included in the levy made at that meeting, the 
sum of thef two thousand seven hundred dollars to be set apart as the 
Court House fund. AtVhe February term, 1842, Edmund H. Hop- 
kins, William Rankin and William D. Allison were appointed com- 
missioners to draft a plan for a Court House and make a report of the 
probable cost thereof. At the April term the Commissioners re- 
ported, whereupon it was ordered, " That the said Commissioners, 
with Thos. Towles, Sr., added, are instructed to reconsider the report 
just made on the building of a Court House for the county, and so 
modify the same as in their discretion that the whole cost of the 
building shall not exceed — 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 79 

TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, 

And that they advertise in someLpuisville and Evansville newspaper ; 
that the building of -the said Court House will be let to the "^west 
bidder at next May County Court." 

At the May court the following order was made: "Ordered 
that Edmund H. Hopkins, James Rouse, Willie Sugg and Larkin White 
be appointed commissioners to let the building of a new Court House 
according to the plan and specifications submitted to the court by Ed- 
mund H. Hopkins, Thomas Towles and William Rankin, and this day 
having been duly advertised and made known, as the day for letting 
the building of said new Court House. It is further ordered that the 
said Commissioners proceed to let the same forthwith at public auction 
to the lowest bidder, and take bond with security to be approved by 
the court." 

The new plan and specifications were received by the court and 
adopted, a majority of all the Justices being present and concurring. 
Littleberry Weaver became the undertaker at and for the sum of nine 
thousand four hundred dollars. At the same time the following order 
was passed : " Ordered that the Commissioners heretofore appointed 
to secure a plan for a nev^? Court House are continued, and hereby 
empowered, authorized and directed to sell the old Court House at 
public auction to the highest bidder upon a credit until the first day 
of March, 1843, taking bond and requiring the purchaser to remove 
the same by a day to be named and fixed by the court. It is further 
ordered that Edmund H. Hopkins be and he is appointed a commit- 
tee to superintend the building of the new Court House, whose duty 
it shall be to examine all material, inspect and superintend the work 
as it p/ogresses, and see that the same be done faithfully according to» 
contract, and for these services and* for drawing the plans and specifi- 
cations of the house to be built, he is to be allowed the sum of four 
hundred and twenty-five dollars." 

In the month of June the old Court House was dismantleed, 
torn away and work begun on the new house. It became necessary 
then that some suitable building should be secured for the purposes 
of the court, and to that end a lease for a time was affected with the 
Trustees of the Baptist Church, which had been built and completed 
this same year, to be paid for at the rate of one hundred and fifty dol- 
lars per year. The church was used until October, 1843, when the 
keys of the new Court House were turned over by the contractors, and 
the building received by the county. James Bacon was the contractor 



80 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

for the wood-work, assisted by Philip Van Bussum. John F. Toy did 
the painting, A bell costing one hundred and sixty dollars was pur- 
chased and hung in the cupalo by Philip Van Bussum. That same 
bell still hangs, and for the last sixteen years has struck the hours 
to the great comfort and convenience of the population. The speci- 
fications of this building can not be found, and as for the plan, 
the building is yet towering in its majesty and is likely to remain tlie 
recognized temple of justice for many years to come. The original 
roof was made of slate, but in November, 1849, the Sheriff was directed 
to pay Barak Brashear and Alfred Oliver the sum of four hundred and 
fifty dollars for removing the slate from the roof and re-covering the 
same with shingles. Several changes were made in the original plan, 
for one of which Mr. Weaver was paid five hundred dollars. From 
the amount of caution and taste exercised in completing this building, 
it would seem that this new and handsome edifice would meet all of 
the demands of the most fastidious, but judging from the following- 
sarcastic order entered by the Clerk of the County Court at the Octo- 
ber meeting, 1845 — in some particulars, at least — the reverse seems 
to have been the case : *' Ordered, That Littleberry Weaver, for cut- 
ting stone and lumber, and making platform in the Court house, called 
a bar, but looking more like a bake oven, and then removing the same, 
it being found useless, inconvenient and exceedingly unsightly, one 
hundred and twentv dollars and sixtv-four cents." 

The new Court House was not only large and convenient, but it 
was most graciously arranged for all the public purposes, particularly 
so for dancing. The young people of the town was delighted, of 
course, and as a consequence, social balls and hops were frequently 
held in the new building Anti-Socialists lived in those days, as well as 
now, and when their cynical blood became heated from intentional or 
unintentional slight, they very naturally, intensified their deformities 
of disposition by a reckless appeal to the pen, which they in all life, 
have regarded as mightier than the sword. Among the many anony- 
mous articles addressed to the honorable court concerning the use of 
the building for dances and such like, the following is, perhaps, the 
most characteristic. We copy verbatim : 

^^ To the Honorable County Court : 

" Gentlemen — As you are the guardians of the public property 
of the county, and as it is your duty to see that this property is not de- 
stroyed or misused, I beg leave to call your attention to the danger 
to which the Court House is exposed by being used as a datice house. 
Many of your body perhaps are not aware that the house is used almost 
every week by a company called a Social Club for the purpose of danc- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 8l 

ing^ yet such is the fact, for the truth of which I refer you to some of 
the members of your honorable body, by being thus used. The walls 
in a short time will become damaged and need repairs. Who will 
pay for these repairs, the Social Club or the Taxpayers ? The fires, I 
understand, are left to take care of themselves, no one member of 
the so-called Social Club taking it upon himself to see to them. Should 
the house burn down through carelessness, the County Court will find 
it their business to rebuild it, for the Club will not be apt to do so. 
On several occasions I understand the use of the house has been asked 
for for the purpose of holding religious worship. Does preaching the 
Gospel within the walls do the house any injury ? It was said at the 
time by those who objected to it, that it was not built for a meeting 
house. So I think myself, but still I do not think it was built for a 
Da?ice House. They also said there were plenty of churches in town 
to preach in. So there is ; and there is also public houses enough in 
town to dance in. The Court House should not be used for either. 
Many also objected to its being used for a public exhibition of the 
scholars connected with one of your schools, a matter of far more im- 
portance to the public than the drawing of cat gut and the bloivijig of 
pipes. The house was built for the purpose of holding the courts in it. 
Let it be so used. It cost about ten thousand dollars, and it should 
therefore be well taken care of and not used for any other purpose than 
what it was designed for when built. The whole county is interested 
in this matter, and not merely a few in town. In conclusion, I ask 
your honorable body to look well into this matter. You now have 
timely warning of the danger to which the house is exposed, and in you 
is vested the remedy. Will you apply it .'* By so doing you will comply 
with the wishes of more than one. 

" TAXPAYER. 
" December, 22, 1845." 

Taxpayer was no doubt one those easy whittling kind who watched 
all of the points of public and private interest, except those which 
most concerned himself. He evidently had been black-balled bv the 
" Social Club " and was not held in high esteem bv the church. He 
was a selfish fellow, for he opposed the using of the Court House 
even for religious purposes ; but then he was a smarter cuss than he 
would have the world believe in his disguised epistle to the court. 
His complaint, consistent as it appeared, failed to attract the attention 
of the court. Flitting feet, inspired by the '' Draiving of Cat Gut^'' 
and ''^Blowing of Pipes " continued to revel in terpchicorean pleasure, 
and religious denominations used the house whenever they pleased, to 
the disgust of this perhaps " Poll Tax " payer. But at the October 
court, 1852, the following was passed : " Ordered, that the jailer shall 
not hereafter suffer or permit the Court House or any room thereof 
to be used for any show or exhibition for a sight of which any 

6 



82 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

money is charged. Nor shall he rent or let said building, or any room 
or any apartment thereof, to any painter, daguerreotypest, musician 
necromancer, spiritual rappings, jugglers, rope dancers, slight-of-hand 
performance, or any other monte bank whatever." 

At the same court a six-foot gravel walk was ordered to be made 
around the foot of the incline. This was the first walk of any impor- 
tance ever ordered by the county around the square. At the October 
court, 1853, the sweeping order of 1852 was modified by authorizing 
the jailer to let the building to any religious denomination. This 
now old building has been the scene, in its time, of social occasions 
both charming and brilliant. Many persons living can turn over 
memories' leaves and find recorded some of the happiest hours of life 
spent within the walls of that old temple, dedicated to Blackstone and 
other matchless masters. Many young hearts bursting with love have 
been soothed beneath its roof. Many young student, whose heart 
tickled his throat, has met his success or re^'-erse there. Political 
hacks have been hatched in its rostrum, while eloquence and oratory 
have caused its walls to resound the thundering applause of an excited 
and gratified multitude. 

Its bar was the professional battle ground of a host of brilliant 
men — Towles, Dixon, Powell, Cook, McHenry, the Barbours, Crock- 
ett, Cissell, Hughes, the Dallams, the Yeamans, Turner, Bunch, Glass, 
Kinney, Vance and a host of others, while the ermine was graced by 
' such shining lights as McLean, Shackelford, Stites, Dabney, Calhoun, 
Cook, Fowler and others. In 1857, a necessity for the alteration of 
the interior plan of the house manifested itself so apparently, the 
court at its September sitting ordered, '* That John T. Bunch, L. W. 
Brown, W. D. Allison, James H. Priest, L. W. Powell and Henry F. 
Turner be- appointed commissioners to examine the Court House, and 
report what alterations and repairs are in their opinion necessary, and 
a plan of such alterations, and the probable cost of the whole work, 
and how long it will take to complete the same." 

At the September court the Commissioners reported a plan not 
to exceed in cost fifteen hundred dollars. Justices Hiram Turner, B. 
D. Cheatham, W. H, Cunningham, William E. Bennett, E. F. Hazel- 
wood and Y. E. Allison, Judge of the County Court, voted for the 
motion made to adopt the plan and directing said alterations and im- 
provements to be made. Justices B. T. Martin, Isham Cottingham, 
H. L. Cheaney and William S. Hicks voted in the negative. The 
motion prevailed, but upon consultation, it was thought best to defer 
the whole matter until a fuller court could meet. October following, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 83 

the aforesaid Commissioners were removed and the following order 
passed : " Ordered that John ^. Bunch, Y. E. Allison, William D. 
Allison, William E. -Lambert and Philip Van Bussum be appointed 
commissioners to draft and fix upon a plan for the alteration and im- 
provement of the interior of the Court House, and let the same to the 
lowest bidder." This motion was concurred in unanimously. From 
some reason these Commissioners failed to do their duty, as will be 
seen from the following March court, 1858 : "The Commissioners 
appointed by the court to draft a plan, and have the interior of the 
Court House repaired, having failed to act, it is now ordered that 
the said Committee be removed, and that Barak Brashear, L. W. 
Brown, H. F. Turner, John W. Crockett, F. H. Dallam and I. G. 
Livers, be appointed a committee to act in the place of those removed, 
and they proceeded to act forthwith." At the April court following, 
the Commissioners reported a plan and specifications made by J. J. 
Kriss, architect, which were adopted. The contract was awarded L 
G. Livers, and one thousand dollars ordered to be paid him for mak- 
ing the improvements. The interior of the building was completely 
overhauled, and made both comfortable and convenient. The 
Judge's stand was removed to the center of the rear wall, handsome 
tables inclosed by a nicely finished iron railing, were placed in front 
of the Judge for the use of the Clerk, a large space in front and on 
both sides of the Judge and Clerk was set apart for the use of the bar, 
this also was inclosed by a handsome iron railing outside of the bar; 
the entire interior, with the exception of ample passageways, was pro- 
vided with seats elevated one above another from the floor to the 
wall. The improvement was a grand one, springing from the old 
open brick concern, as cold in winter as the north end of an arctic 
blizzard, to a modernized interior comfortably and conveniently ar- 
ranged. This, now much to be enjoyed building, was used until the 
second year of the war, when it was taken by the soldiery and occu- 
pied as a military headquarters, a prison house, hospital, cook-house 
and a means defensive against the attacks of the enemy. While 
many court houses throughout the State and adjoining counties were 
burned to the ground by one side or the other of the enemy, this old 
veteran was permitted to stand, presenting at the close of the war, 
unbroken walls and columns, but an indescribably mutilated interior. 
Pews and benches, flooring and other necessary appendages had been 
sacrificed to the flames or whittled into ingenious trinkets. Its ruth- 
less inmates had laid destroying hands upon evidences of value, torn 



84 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

from its walls the beauties of architecture, and knifed into shape- 
less confusion the bench from which justice had been delivered. As 
a result of this unwarranted deviltry upon the part of those whose 
duty it was to protect, and not to destroy, the following, which ap- 
pears of record in the fall 1865, will explain : " His Honor, C. W. 
Hutchen, Judge of Henderson County, having had the Justices of the 
county summoned to meet, the following answered to their names : 
Richard Keach, Hiram Turner, P. H. Lockett, Charles C. Eades, 
John F. Toy, C. S, Royster, William C. Green, F. E. Walker, and C. 
C. Ball." Judge Hutchen explained the object of the meeting to be 
for devising ways and means for repairing and re-organiznig the Court 
House, which had been rendered worthless from causes growing out 
of the late war. Thereupon the following order was entered of re- 
cord : " Ordered, that the sum of five thousand dollars be appro- 
priated to the remodeling and repairing of the Court House, and that 
P. H. Lockett, Henry F. Turner and C. W. Hutchen be appointed 
commissioners to devise plans and have said work done. It is further 
ordered that the said Commissioners will not begin said work until 
they have consulted with an advisory board hereby appointed, consist- 
ing of Richard Keach, C. S. Royster, Thomas B. Long, Hiram Turner, 
Charles C. Ball, William W. Shelby, Frank E. Walker and John F. 
Toy. When said advisory board are satisfied that the war is over 
and that the house will not again be occupied by soldiers and that 
martial law is repealed, and shall so express themselves to the Com- 
missioners heretofore appointed, then they are authorized to act. 
Ordered, that Y. E. Allison, Adam Rankin and William Green be ap- 
pointed a committee to borrow on the credit of the county the said 
sum of five thousand dollars, bearing interest not to exceed 8 per 
cent." 

This set of Commissioners it seems failed to make a satisfactory 
report, and at the March term, 1866, the following order was passed : 
" Ordered, that a committee of three be appointed, whose duty it shall 
be to employ an architect, who shall draw under the direction of said 
committee, a plan and specifications, which plan, if adopted by the 
court, shall be carried into effect, said committee to advertise, let, and 
have built, the alterations necessary to the improvement, and perfect- 
ing the Court House in Henderson County. It is further ordered 
that the sum of twelve thousand dollars be, and is hereby appropri- 
ated for the purpose of reconstructing and repairing the interior of 
the building. It is further ordered, that the committee consist of 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 85 

Henry F. Turner, Jesse Lame and Charles C. Eades, and that they 
are authorized to borrow that amount on the faith of the county, 
at a rate of interest not exceeding- 10 per cent, for the purpose afore- 
said." 

At the May term, 1865, the committee reported a plan and speci- 
fications, whereupon the following order was passed : " Ordered, that 
the report of the building committee this day made, and the plans 
and specifications of the architects, Mursinna and Boyd, as now shown 
to the court, be received and adopted, and that the building committee, 
to-wit : Messrs. Turner, Eads and Lame, be and they are hereby 
clothed with power to either let the building, repairing and recon- 
structing of the Court House, at either puplic or private contract, or 
have the same done under their supervision and control. It is fur- 
ther ordered that Frank E. Walker be and he is appointed a commit- 
tee to borrow any sum of money necessary to complete the repairs 
and reconstructing of the Court House, upon the best terms he can 
at any rate of interest not exceeding 10 per cent per annum, and 
pledge the faith of the county for the redemption of the same, and 
that he pay the same out on the order of the building committee." 

The internal arrangement of the building was completely revolu- 
tionized by the architects, the lower story, which had always prior to 
that time been used as a court room, was now divided into four lart^e 
rooms, with halls between and the Circuit Court room moved to the 
second story. The County and Circuit Clerks' offices were left be- 
low, but moved from two brick rooms forming an ell to the house into 
the main building. In this change a large vault was built for the pur- 
pose of preserving the records of the county against fire. The brick 
work was done by Weaver and Digman, the carpenter work by James 
H. Johnson. At the December term, 1866, the building committee 
reported the work completed according to contract, and the same was 
received in discharge of the original contract. 

The old temple was once more agreed to be as good as new, and 
far more convenient and comfortable than ever before. The Circuit 
Court room, now located in the second story, proves easy of ventilation, 
the breezes roll, in undisturbed waves, through its large openin^^s dur- 
ing the heat of summer, and are controlled by ordinary fires durino- 
the cold months of winter. Located high up above the sins of the 
world, eloquence towers over the heads of the populace, and the keen 
call of the Sheriff can be recognized for squares. How long this old 



86 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

building will serve the people or supply the demands of these times 
of railroads and electricity, no one can tell ; suffice it to say, before 
another history is written we shall see a stone structure standing in 
its place worthy of the great county. 



CHAPTER IX. 



COUNTY clerk's OFFICES, ETC. 

TN the two preceding chapters I have given a complete history of 
^ the county jails and court houses, beginning with the rude log hut 
used in 1799 and ending with the present magnificent building, stand- 
ing in beautiful prominence on Court Square. 

Doubtless this has proved uninteresting, and many may say it might 
have been left out. It is a material part of the county's history, 
however, and in the judgment of the local historians, if their work is 
to be accredited, is most worthy of being perpetuated. 

The county has greatly changed since the lonely debtor sat in 
gloomy suspense in his prison room, situated in a log cabin, no better, 
and perhaps not so good as a majority of the stables of the county, 
brooding over a reckless disregard of credit extended him. Indeed 
has the county changed. Where wolves and wild animals roamed un- 
molested, where flocks of wild fowls picked berries from the unculti- 
vated hillsides and valleys, we now see green fields dotted with im- 
proved breeds of cattle and sheep. 

Where by-paths, trails and traces used to guide the hunj:er 
through the forests, we now see a cleared country, with main roads 
and cross roads, webbing the county from its extreme northeastern 
to its extreme southeastern corner. 

In place of bringing the mails from Hopkinsville on horseback 
once a week, the iron horse now rushes over his iron roadway, ex- 
changing the mails as often as once, twice and thrice a day. We 
might go on and enumerate until wearied and worn, lay down and 
" nap it " for a new beginning. 



88 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The clerks' offices of the county, as yet unassociated with any 
chapter of this work, are no less important in many respects than 
those already mentioned. 

The records kept by the first clerk of the county failed to men- 
tion his official habitation. Whether he abode his time at Bradley's 
Tavern or in one secluded corner of the old school house, or carried 
his office in his coat tail pocket, is a matter of which we shall never 
know more than we now do, unless some expert spiritualist should 
hold converse with the spirit of that departed and long ago pulver- 
ized official. Even then should this cunning manipulator of messages 
from the spirit world meet the historical grievance, so common to all 
compilers of ancient records and traditionary testimony, face to face, 
it is likely that he would soon discover his inability to enlighten his 
anxious auditory. Old age in human kind is a terrible infirmity and 
terribly damaging to the faculty of memory. Presuming that old 
spirits are as averse to the worry of recalling long lost events and as 
inaccurate in dates and locations as old mortals, we are prone to be- 
lieve from experience had with the latter class, that the entranced 
medium would meet with but little headway in his spiritual interview, 
for the gentleman from whom he could hope to get his information has 
been dead, lo, these eighty-three years. The question naturally arises, 
" is the memory of an old spirit brighter than that of an old mortal ?" 
and this question I decline to entertain, leaving it to our learned 
theologians, determined at all times to give a hearty amen to what 
they may say coHcerning it. 

But about the first clerk's office : it must have been a shabby af- 
fair, for we learn from the records that Mr. John D. Haussman, the 
first clerk of the county, presented a bill to the first Court of Claims 
in November, 1779, amounting to thirteen dollars and eighty-nine 
cents for office rent and clerk's services, from the time of his ap- 
pointment in the previous June. Twelve years after this, and some 
years after the death of Mr. Haussman, Ambrose Barbour, Clerk of 
the^ Court of Quarter Sessions and County Court, presented a bill to 
the court, then sitting as a Court of Claims, in November, 1811, 
which read as follows : 

Ambrose Barbour vs. County — 

To ofiice rent since November 1 , 1810, one year $20 00 

This account includes house rent and office articles, such as chairs, tables, etc. 
To paper, ink, quills, etc 17 00 

From this it is reasonably safe to conclude that office rents, tables 
and chairs were cheap in those days, or else paper, ink and quills 
were reasonably enormous. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 89 

In 1813 the first Court House was built, and an order passed 
some time prior to that eventful year, was enforced — that is, that the 
office of the clerk of the court Should not be over a square from the 
court building. Upon the application of Mr. Barbour he was per- 
mitted to remove his office into the second story of the new Court 
House. 

Here he continued until his death in 1822. Harrison H. Grixby 
succeeded to the office and held this room until his death in 1824. 
William D. Allison succeeded to the office, and live years afterwards 
was successful in securing from the County Court an order directing 
the building of suitable offices for the purpose of the courts of the 
county. A committee consisting of Wm. D. Allison, Edmunds H. 
Hopkins and one or two others were appointed to draft a plan and 
report. 

This was done, and the plan adopted by the court, with instruc- 
tions to the committee to receive bids and contract for said work. 

A short time thereafter the contract was awarded to Mr. James 
Alves, and the work of building commenced. The building cost nine 
hundred and fifty dollars, and was completed a few months after it 
had been contracted for. A large majority of the readers of this 
book remember it, for it stood as an ell with two rooms extending out 
from the main building in the direction of the Public Square, and was 
used and occupied up to the year 1866, the time the Court House 
now standing was completely remodeled. When this old-time deposi- 
tory of record evidences was rased to the ground one of the principal 
land marks of the county was destroyed ; the prestine headquarters of 
social gatherings, the meeting place of jokers, the auditorium where 
gathered musicians and mirth-provoking masters, the seclude of con- 
vival hospitality, all of these and more too,, found a welcome pastime 
within the walls and beneath the roof of this primitive judicial addi- 
tament. If bricks could only talk, if they could only be interviewed, 
what a wealth of wit and humor now lost forever, would be disclosed. 
Each brick could a tale unfold, whose very telling would revive old 
memories and cause even the stoic indifferent to loosen the pegs of 
his boots in convulsive laughter. But it is too late, Old Time has 
consigned most of these humorous incidents to the tomb of the 
Capulets, while those yet remembered come in such a questionable 
shape as to render their accuracy a matter of very great doubt. Hun- 
dreds of men have gone from their old retreat happier than the sport- 
ing lamb, bearing with them the legal warrant to blend two souls into 



90 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

one ; hundreds have gone therefrom confident in the justice of law, 
while there are others who have left it with broken purses, if not 
broken hearts. All of the vicissitudes of life have been witnessed 
there, and it is a pity that those old walls, for old acquaintance sake, 
might not have been permitted to stand for generations to come. 

In 1866, when the internal design of the Court House had been 
completely changed, and the Circuit Court room and jury rooms re- 
moved into the second story of the building, the Circuit and County 
Clerks' offices were located in rooms on the first floor. Nine years 
afterward it was deemed necessary to make a change occasioned by 
the growing demands of the county, and thereupon, at the August 
meeting of the County Court, 1875, a committee appointed at a former 
court to consider the advisability of such change, and a suitable plan, 
reported. The report of the committee was adopted, and, " upon 
motion of Thomas Spencer, a sum not exceeding three thousand dol- 
lars, to be appropriated out of the levy of 1874, was set aside for the 
purpose of building an addition to the Court House and improve the 
vaults for the safe-keeping of the records of the county. Judge P. 
H Lockett and P. B. Tribble were appointed a committee to procure 
plans and report. Judge P. H. Lockett, J. M. Stone, David Banks, 
Jr.; J. E. Denton and G. W. Smith were appointed a building com- 
mittee to contract for and superintend the building of said addition, 
and authorized to draw orders on the Sheriff of the county for the 
payment of the same as the work progressed." 

The contract was let to P. B. Tribble, and a short time thereafter 
a handsome two-story wing was built, and the lower wing set apart for 
the office of the Circuit Court Clerk and the records of his office. 

Adjoining this room was built, at the same time, a large, roomy 
and conveniently arranged brick vault for the safe-keeping of all the 
records and papers of the office. 

This building, a two-story one, planned with an eye to symmetry of 
architectural design and harmony with the main building, added greatly 
to the appearance of Court Hill, but rather left it in an unfinished ap- 
pearance. It was said by many, who professed to possess a knowl- 
edge of architecture, and a taste for harmony in such matters, to 
resemble too closely, a cow with one horn. 

PRESENT BUILDING. 

This complaint, however, was soon remedied, and all causes for 
fault-finding was entirely removed. The office of the County Clerk 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 91 

became cramped, the vault had rapidly filled up and was growing too 
small day by day; other offices were needed, and above all, a room 
was badly wanted for the purp-^se of the sessions of the County Court 
and the semi-annual terms of the grand jury. To this end, therefore, 
and for the additional purpose of completing the original architectural 
design of having one handsome and roomy building for all purposes 
of the county, at the October court, of 1880, the following order was 
made : 

" On motion it was ordered that the County Judge appoint a 
building committee to investigate into the necessity for building a wing 
to the Court House, for a County Clerk's office and grand jury room, 
said committee to report at the February term of this court, where- 
upon the following were appointed such committee : Samuel R. Hop- 
kins, J. M. Stone and J. W. Eakins. At the March, 1881, term, the 
committee reported that they considered the building of a clerk's office 
and grand jury room a necessity." 

This report was received and approved, and by a unanimous vote 
of the court then sitting, it was determined to build the same. 

The following order was then passed : " Ordered, that an addi- 
tional levy of five cents on the one hundred dollars be made to pay 
for the addition heretofore ordered, and that Samuel R. Hopkins, J. 
W. Eakins and J. M. Stone, be appointed a committee to procure a 
plan and let out the building of said addition. That Judge P. H. 
Lockett and J. M. Stone be appointed a committee to borrow a suffi- 
cient sum of money to pay for the same, until the amount levied at 
this term can be collected by the Sheriff of the county." 

P. B. Tribble furnished the plan and specifications, and upon ex- 
amination, the same were adopted by the committee. John Mundo 
being the lowest bidder, the work of building was awarded to him, and 
W. H. Sandefur appointed superintendent of the work. This addi- 
tion cost the county a little over two thousand and two hundred dol- 
lars, and was completed and occupied by the County Clerk before the 
fall of 1881. It has been said of the County Clerk's office, that it 
has adjoining a magnificient fire-proof vault, large enough to accom- 
modate the business of the county for many years to come. 

This completes the public buildings of the county, so far as the 
courts and their necessary adjuncts are concerned, and leaves the 
county at this time the possessor of an imposing structure, which it is 
presumed will serve all purposes for years to come. In the one main 
building and the two wings, are now located the offices of the Circuit 
and County Court Clerks ; the County Judge, with a fire-proof vault 



92 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

for all the records of his office ; the Sheriff, County Treasurer, Mas- 
ter Commissioner, and the two City District Magistrates. In the 
second story of the west wing is a handsome room fitted up for 
the use of the meetings of the County Court and grand juries. In 
the second story of the main building, are the Circuit Court and jury 
rooms. 



CHAPTER X 



COUNTY COURT PROCEEDINGS 1779 — TAVERN RATES FIXED, ETC. — 
SOMETHING OF THE EARLIEST SETTLERS — FIRST STORES, SCHOOLS, 

ETC. — THE COURTS. 

pZ^AVING given a history of the main thoroughfares, Court Houses^ 
^ / jails and offices of the county from their beginning in 1799, to the 
present time, I return to the second meeting of the County Court held 
in August of that j^ear. Having disposed of all road and public 
building matters brought before them, the court proceeded to enter- 
tain such motions of minor interest as any citizen or any member of 
the court may have thought for the general good, or legally required 
to come before it. 

FIRST TAVERN RATES. 

A motion was made to establish rates for the government of all 
taverns of the county. The following is a copy of the order: 

TAVERN RATES AUGUST, 1779. 

The court fixes the tavern rates in this county as follows : 

Breakfast and Supper, each is 

Dinner is 6d 

Lodging 6d 

Corn per gallon, or Oats 9d 

Hay or fodder, per night and stabl cage Is 6d 

Pastureage 4 d J^s 

Whiskey per gallon , I2s 

Drink, per half-pint 2d 

Brandy per gallon I8s 

Beer and Cider, per quart is 

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST COURT. 

Isaac Dunn, a poor orphan, and represented to be a bad boy, was 
apprenticed to John Sutton to learn a trade. This young man en- 
joyed the honor of having been the first person apprenticed in the 



94 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

county. The first appeal from a Magistrate's Court was that of An. 
drew Burk, 7^s. Wiley Thornton, made to this term of the court. The 
first indenture of sale, Samuel Hopkins to John Husbands, was 
acknowledged in this court. The first record evidence of slaves was 
made at this court. 

At the September court, Robert Hamilton produced a license 
from examiners appointed by law to practice as an attorney in the 
Courts of the Commonwealth. Mr. Hamilton was the first lawyer 
licensed to practice in the county. 

FIRST EMANCIPATION. 

A certificate of emancipation of a negro woman and a negro man, 
named respectively, Patience and Scipio, belonging to Joseph Mayes, 
of Henrico County, Virginia, was filed and ordered to be recorded. 
The county being without a record book, and also a seal, the follow- 
ing order was made : " Ordered, that the clerk furnish this county 
with the necessary record book, likewise procure a seal, with a devise 
of a man standing with a sickle in his hand, with words ' Henderson 
County, ' for the circumspection of the court, and a chest to hold the 
record books and papers belonging to the county." 

At the November term of the County Court there were present : 
Charles Davis, John Husbands and Jacob Newman, gentlemen Jus. 
tices. John D. Haussman, Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions for 
the County, made oath to, and filed an account amounting to two dol- 
lars and seventy-five cents, of taxes alienations and county sales from 
the commencement of his office, June, 1799, to the first day of Octo- 
ber last, which was ordered to be certified to the Auditor. This be- 
ing the first Court of Claims the court proceeded to lay the county 
levy and stated the accounts against the county as follows : 

THE COUNTY. 

For building the jail «339.00 

To the Clerk for his office and services as per account 13.89 

To the same for three record books and freight on same from the Falls of the 

Ohio 30.75 

The same for the County seal 8.00 

TotheSherifE 30.00 

To the same for his services in tlie County Court 25.00 

Sherilt commissions for collecting ^499.50, at 6 per cent. 30.00 

The County ....$476.64 

By 333 tithables at f 1.50 each, levied for the use of the County ^499.86 

Ball « 23.22 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 95 

*' Ordered^ that the Sheriff of this county collect from each tithable person 
in this county, one dollar and fifty cents, and therewith discharge the above 
allowances and account with the coiy;t for the balance." 

From the foregoing it will be seen that the tax-paying population 
of the county in November, 1799, was only three hundred and thirty- 
three, and that the tax levied was one dollar and fifty cents per head. 
For some time the tax duplicates increased slowly, and the delinquent 
list was distressingly large. As has been said before, the records of 
the county from the beginning of the year 1800 to 1816, are lost, so 
for the time during that break, I have filled the gap as best could' be, 
from such assistance as was to be obtained from old papers and scraps 
of evidence found bundled away in the County Clerk's office. 

VIENGMAND COURTEIS, THE TRADER. 

In 1792, Viengmand Courteis built him a small log hut on the 
river bank and traded in hides and skins of all kinds. 

What he did with them, or where he found a market, we shall 
never know. He bought mostly bear and otter skins. What he ex- 
changed for these skins we do not know. In those days French trad- 
ers occasionally passed down the river and to these perhaps he ex- 
changed his merchandize for money or other articles of value. 

In 1796 he was joined by Conrad Figis. At this time Captain 
Dunn was the only recognized officer of the law known in all of this 
territory, and owing to the increase of settlers the following order was 
sent him by the Senior Justice: 

"Christian County, State of Kentucky. 
"To Mr. John Dunn : 

'' Sir— You will raise three men to act under you as a patrol in said county 
at the Red Banks, to do your duty agreeably to law. September 2o, I796. 

" Signed, MOSES SHELBY." 

dunn's store. 
Captain Dunn was a man of great importance at that time, from 
the fact of his official position, and also that he was the proprietor of 
the only store in the Red Banks. His house was located on the cor- 
ner of Fourth and Main Streets, where the old foundry now stands, 
and from record evidences it is to be adjudged that he did pretty 
much all the business at that time. The following is a copy of one 
of his accounts : 

'■'■ Jesse Stmmonds, Dr. to John Dunn : 

"1 lb. powder 7-6 £0 7 « 

2 bear skins, loaned in exchange ' " 12 



96 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

1 quait cherry bounce, 4-6 ' 0. 4. 6. 

£1. 4. 0. 
"Sir— Please to pay tlic above bill to Robert Simpson, .and this shall be your re- 
ceipt." 

"Attest: Ebknkzku Simpson. JOHN DUNN. 

"June 24, 1794." 

FIRST SCHOOL. 

The first school, of which anything is known, was taught some- 
where in the neighborhood of Diamond Island, and whether this Dia- 
mond Island was either of the islands near Henderson, or Diamond 
Island sixteen miles below, no one can speak with any degree of cer- 
tainty. Captain Dunn was a patron of this school, as the following 
will show : 

" Captain John Dunn; * 

" Sir — Please pay Mr. Russell Hewitt, or order, ten shillings, yourquar- 
terly subscription to my school, at the Diamond Island, and this shall be yoiu- 
sufficient receipt. Signed, HENRY PATMERS 

"October 2G, 1794. Test: John Devritt," 

In the year 1795 the following curious bill of sale Dassed title in 
a horse : 
♦' Knoii) All Men by these Presents : 

*'That I, Robert Simpson, do give, grant and sell, and convey to John 
Dunn, one bay mare, about fourteen hands high, in consideration of twenty 
pounds paid to me in hand, the same creature I lent to John Patterson to hunt 
on. I likewise authorize John Dunn to take the same mare wherever he can 

find her, and at my risque. 

"ROBERT SIMPSON. 

"Attest: Uel Lambkin, Daniel Kerr 

" 29, December, 1795." 

HUGH KNOX AS A JOKER. 

In this same year, Hugh Knox, who was appointed the 
the first Justice of the Court of Quarter Sessions, and a man of 
strong mind and great will-power, got himself into quite a financial 
trouble for those times, by indulging his ungovernable disposition for 
practical jokes. Mr. Knox was a man full of life and fire, and would be 
considered by the more settled people of this day, what is commonly 
denominated a "fast man." The following letter addressed to Peter 
Smith, near Louisville, is reproduced, more on account of its historical 
connection, than as a literary curiosity. At that time our grand juries 
met in the town of Russellville, Logan County, in what was called the 
District Court, and residents of the Red Banks — now Henderson — had 
to ride through the wild woods, a distance of one hundred miles, when 
summoned, to attend as parties or witnesses, in criminal or civil actions. 
From this letter, also, will be seen the difficulties parties had to un- 

\ 




COURT HOUSE. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 97 

dergo in procuring legal service. This letter was sent to Louisville by 
hand : 

COPY "t)F LETTER. 

*' Dear Sir — I have hitherto neglected informing you what happened me 
at Logan Cort, in consequence of our Kuyckingdall frolick. The old Jezebel 
was there and presented me to the grand jury, by little Hugh White, making 
oath that Michael Sprinkle and I were the men that don the execution, upon 
which a Cort was Cauled in fiv^e days after, in which time I had to ride sixty 
miles for a lawyer, to which I had to give a fee oi fifty dollars, and was acquit- 
ted with honor. With that and the other expenses of witnesses, amounts to 
ten dollars a man. which they have all agreed to bear an equal part of the bur- 
den, and the most of them has paid me. If you will be so good as to bear 
part of the burden with me, I shall be obliged to you. and shall take the amount 
of the ten dollars in corn or flour at Louisville, at the market price. I shall 
send an order by Captain John Dunn, which you will discharge at this time, 
as I stand in great need of bread at the salt works that I am opening. The 
favor shall be greatly acknowledged by your very humble servant. 

" Mr. Pete Smith H. KNGX 

"July 20. 1795." 

In order to get this ten dollor's worth of corn or flour, Captain 
Dunn went to Louisville and carried the same back to the salt works, 
on Highland Creek, for which he only charged the moderate sum of 
five dollars. 

FIRST GRIST MILL. 

The first grist mill of which anything is known, was built by 
Captain Dunn, in the year 1796, and was operated by him up to his 
death a few years afterwards. For several years this was the only 
mill in the settlement, and where it was located, or what character of 
a mill it was, the records fail to explain. In Captain Dunn's old 
account book, a little blank paper affair, with a thin, blue paper back, 
six inches long and four inches wide, is to be found seven accounts 
against the following persons, respectively : Richard Taylor, John 
Christian, Andrew Rowen, Walter Thorn, Hugh Knox, Michael Sprin- 
kle and Peter Thorn — all for grinding and packing. His usual charge 
for this work was three shillings sixpence per bushel. The charge 
for " packing " was taking the meal in sacks on horseback from the 
mill to the home of the purchaser. So, from this, it will be seen that 
the system of " delivering goods " was adopted at the Red Banks as 
early as the year 1796. 

HANNAH DUNN. 

While Captain Dunn was busy with his mill and official business, 
Mrs. Hannah Dunn, his efficient helpmate, was occuppied in watching 
the store and little tavern on the corner of Fourth and Main Streets. 

7 



98 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

She must have been a woman of indominable energy and great mus- 
cular strength. Oftentimes, in addition to her daily labors, she was 
known to do a man's work chopping cordwood, heavy lifting, and many 
other things nowadays men would consider too laborious, to say noth- 
ing of the women of 1887. She was as fearless as she was energetic, 
and during her husband's absence would go into the woods, attack 
bear, and most generally bring one home with her. Nor was this all, 
she was no more afraid of a man than she was of a bear, and many 
times she was known to take an overdosed, quarrelsome, wild, wild 
woodsman by the nap of his neck and lift him from the bar-room out 
of the tavern. She was boss, and never failed to impress her author- 
ity whenever occasion demanded it. 

QUEER RECEIPTS. 

At that time what is known as Henderson County, was called 
the '* Big Barrens," from the fact that little timbers grew over the 
county, save along the water courses. 

Owing to the scarcity of salt, that necessary commodity sold at 
an enormously high price, ten dollars per bushel being the regular 
price, while in many cases as high as fifteen and twenty dollars was 
paid. 

People had a curious' way of writing receipts. Here is a speci- 
men : 

" Receipt from John McCallister, 

8 bu salt on account of John Dunn, 
I say receipt by me this Jany 7, 1796, 

ROBERT LANE." 
Most all receipts at that time were written in the same peculiar 
phraseology. 

Much of the country immediately around Henderson was low and 
marshy, and stagnant water stood in ponds and low places, conse- 
quently the whole settlement suffered from ague and fever. 

FIRST PHYSICIANS. 

At this time there were few physicians, and from what can be 
learned they were uneducated and really knew but little more than 
any other observing or experimenting settler. Dr. James Hamilton, 
a man of fine natural and considerable acquired intelligence, prac- 
ticed, and was regarded as really the only physician of any respecta- 
bility, until the coming of Dr. Adam Rankin, in 1800. 

EARLY MARRIAGES. 

For sometime prior to the organization of the county, and for 
many years afterwards, Eneas McCallister, father of the lamented 
'Squire John E. McCallister, did the duty of parson on marital oc" 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 99 

casions. He was one of the first magistrates, and was authorized by 
the County Court to perform that service. In 1800 he married Cap- 
tain Daniel McBride and Mary--Bennett, Jacob Sprinkle and Axy Mc- 
Lean, Moses Stegall (whose first wife was brutally murdered by Big 
and Little Harpe, and he himself afterwards killed) and Sally Vane. 
In 1804 he married Dr. Adam Rankin and Haney Gamble. 

YOUTHFUL WEDLOCKS. 

In primitive days men and women — if they could be called men 
and women — inter-married at an earlier period in life than they do 
now. 

Oftentimes girls at fourteen and sixteen years of age were given 
in marriage to youngsters from nineteen to twenty-one, and in some 
instances to men of mature age. Instances were known, and are 
known to this day, of girls becoming mothers before arriving at the 
age of sweet sixteen. 

It is also a fact that marriages, considering the population, were 
far more frequent than nowadays. Computing the number of mar- 
riages in 1797 and 1800, and up even to 1810, with a corresponding 
regard to numbers, the list of marriages annually at this modern day, 
to correspond with the list in those years, would reach fully fifteen 
hundred, if not more, per annum. 

CHEAP LAND. 

The finest lands in the county were insignificantly cheap, so that 
any man of ordinary industry could secure himself a home. For in- 
stance, in 1798 John Williams, Robert Burton and Archibald Hender- 
son, surviving executor of Richard Henderson, sold to General Sam- 
uel Hopkins and Mark Alexander, all of the land on the Ohio near the 
mouth of Green River, and one hundred acres adjoining the town of 
Henderson, amounting in the aggregate, to five thousand six hundred 
and fourteen acres, for the price of seventy-five cents per acre, and 
that on credit. 

One year later. General Hopkins sold to Henry Purviance, four 
lots of one acre each, in the town of Henderson, and lots Nos. 4 and 
5, containing ten acres each, for the round sum of one hundred and 
ninety dollars. 

SLAVERY. 

In 1799, settlers began to import slaves to the county. At the 
October Court of Quarter Sessions General Samuel Hopkins re- 
ported a bill of sale for record, which conveyed the title from John 
Hopkins, of Mercer County, to General Hopkins, of this county, in 
and to seven negro slaves, two men, one woman, one boy and four 



100 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

small children, two sorrel horses and one black mare, for and in con- 
sideration of two hundred and forty three pounds, eleven shillings 
and eight pence. 

THE COURTS. 

The courts of Henderson County, as established and authorized 
by the Act of December 21, 1798, consisted of a County Court and 
Court of Quarter Sessions. The Court of Quarter Sessions was 
directed to sit annually on the first Tuesday in the months of March, 
May, July and October. The County Court the same day in every 
other month in which the Courts of Quarter Sessions were not directed 
to be held. 

The Court of Quarter Sessions was composed of three Justices 
appointed out of the Justices of the Peace for the county. This 
court was authorized to sit six judicial days, unless the business be- 
fore them could be sooner determined. Each Justice was a conserva- 
tor of the peace, and the Court was clothed with authority and power 
to hear and determine all cases whatsoever, at the common law, or 
in chancery, within their respective counties, except such criminal 
causes where the judgment upon conviction should be for the loss of 
life or murder, in which causes they had no jurisdiction, except as an 
examining court. 

In all causes of less than five pounds, current money, or one 
thousand pounds tobacco, this court had no jurisdiction. It did have 
jurisdiction of all matters respecting escheats and forfeiture, arising 
within the county, to award writs of ne exeat injunctions, and habeas 
corpus^ and power to empannel grand juries. The County Court 
was composed of a sufficient number of Justices of the Peace, 
and was given by law, jurisdiction of all causes respecting wills, let- 
ters of administration, mills, roads, appointment of guardians, and 
the settling of their accounts; admitting of deeds and other writings 
to record, to superintend public inspections, grant ordinary license, to 
regulate and restrain ordinances and tippling houses, appoint proces- 
cessioners, to hear and determine by law the complaints of appren- 
tices and hired servants against their masters and mistresses, or of 
the master or mistresses against their apprentices, or servants ; to 
establish ferries, to provide for the poor of the county, to erect nec- 
essary public buildings and purchase land therefor, and to appoint 
inspectors, collectors, surveyors of roads, constables and county jail- 
ers ; and cause a ducking stool to he built in such place as jnight be conve- 
nient for the punishment of minor offenses. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 101 

The Justices of the County Court were conservators of the peace, 
and were given cognizance of all causes of less value than five pounds, 
current money, or one thousand" pounds tobacco. 

An act of 1801, reduced the annual terms of the Court of Quar- 
ter Sessions from four to three courts, to be held on the second Mon- 
day in the months of May, August and November. 

By the terms of the following act, approved December 20, 1802 
Circuit Courts were established throughout the State. 

'* Whereas, The present judiciary system is found to be inconvenient and 
expensive. 

*' Be it enacted, etc.. That the present district courts shall be, and are, abol- 
ished as soon as this act shall take effect. The Circuit Courts shall be and 
they are herebj^ established that each Circuit Court shall hold three times in 
every year. 

" They shall have jurisdiction in all causes, matters and things at laws, and 
in chancery, within their respective districts, except in cases of less value than 
five pounds current money, or one thousands pounds of tobacco. 

"They shall have the same power, authority and jurisdiction given to the 
District and Quarter Session Courts, and be governed by the same rules," 

The Circuit Court, as established by this act, was composed of 
one Judge for the circuit and two assistant Judges, resident in the 
county. 

This act abolished the Court of Quarter Sessions and directed 
the clerk of such courts to deliver all records and papers over to the 
Clerk of the Circuit Court upon demand. By the term of this act the 
Judge to be appointed and the two assistant Judges, were made con- 
servators of the peace. 

An amendatory act, passed and approved December 13, 1804, 
with jurisdiction over all causes which may have originated within the 
bounds of the circuit, was given this court. 

An act approved February 13, 1816, represented the act creating 
the office of assistant Judge alone, all the power and authority for the 
trial of criminal and civil cases, and authority to hold one or more ad- 
ditional terms for the trial of chancery causes, or for the trial of any 
person apprehended on a charge of felony. 

From the organization of the county, in the year 1799 to April, 
1805, the Court of Quarter Sessions held its regular terms, being pre- 
sided over during that time by General Samuel Hopkins, Abraham 
Landers, Hugh Knox and Dr. Adam Rankin, neither of whom was a 
lawyer. ^ 

April 1, 1805, the first Circuit Court for the county commenced 
its sitting and was presided over by Henry B. Broadnax, of Lebanon, 



102 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Judge, and Hugh Knox and Dr. Adam Rankin, assistant Judges. By 
the terms of the act of December, 1802, establishing Circuit Courts, 
the Counties of Muhlenburg and Henderson formed one circuit and 
the courts for the same were directed to be held in the Court House 
in the County of Muhlenburg. 

At the February term, 1808, of the General Assembly, to-wit : on 
the twenty-third day " an act further to amend the act entitled an 
act establishing Circuit Courts " was approved. 

This act divided the State i^ito ten districts, and Henderson then 
became a part of the sixth district, composed of Breckenridge, Ohio 
Muhlenburg, Henderson and Hopkins Counties. The terms of the 
courts commenced in Henderson, on the first Mondays in April, July 
and October, and continued one week. In Hopkins, on the fourth 
Mondays in March, June and September, and continued one week. 

The Judges appointed under this act were required to make their 
allotments by districts, and it was made the duty of each Judge to at- 
tend the courts of the district to which he was attached. The Hon- 
orable Henry B. Broadnax, was allotted to this, the Sixth District. 



CHAPTER XL 



FIRST CRIMINAL COURT — THE FIRST JAIL —THE HARPES — PROFANE 

SWEARING — WATER MILLS SUMMARY TREATMENT OF 

LOAFERS — ELECTIONS. 

ON Tuesday, the second day of July, 1799, the first Court of Crim- 
inal Common law and chancery jurisdiction, held its sitting in 
the village of Henderson, the presiding Justices being General Sam- 
uel Hopkins, Abraham Landers and Hugh Knox, Esqs. Thus, for 
the first time. Law with its imposing ceremony asserted its power and 
authority in this then the extreme western county along the Ohio 
River. William B. Blackburn and Robert Coleman, Esqs., bearino- 
with them commissions as attorneys-at-law in the Courts of the Com- 
monwealth, took the oaths of office and were admitted to practice in 
the Henderson court. The court then proceeded to appoint a Com- 
monwealths Attorney for this county. The vote was taken by ballot 
and William B. Blackburn receiving a majority vote, was declared 
elected. A grand jury was then empanneled, consisting of the follow- 
ing names : Andrew Burke, (foreman), Edmond Hopkins, William 
Lawrence, William Gates, Thomas Housely, David Johnston, John 
Lawrence, Thomas Smith, John Slover, John McCombs, Isham Sel- 
lers, Ezra Owens, Jacob Upp, Warner Buck, William Wells, Sher- 
wood Hicks and Rowlin Hues. These gentlemen being sworn, a 
grand jury of inquest, for the body of the county, received their charge 
and retired to consider of their presentments. Where they retired to 
is not known — more likely than otherwise underneath the shade of 
some dense foliage tree, for there were no buildings at that time, the 
court room itself, being a miserable log hut, with only two openings. 



104 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

a small door, and a very large dirt chimney. However, the jury hav- 
ing spent sometime in deliberating, returned into court the following 
report of their labors, 

*' First. — The grand jury of the body of Henderson County upon their 
oaths, present Isaac Dunn, a minor, hving in this county, for profane swearing 
the thirtieth day of June, on liis return from sermon, Jacob Upp, Hving in this 
Town and Warner Buck, Hving in this Town, both of the grand jury in 
formers." 

Five indictments were returned against men and women for liv- 
ing in adultery, but this must not be taken as an evidence of the 
wickedness of the times, but attributed rather to ignorance, and a 
want of legal arrangements, authorizing marriage. These people 
were living in the wild woods and were perhaps as poor as settlers 
were ever known. A distance of one hundred miles, attended by 
great difficulties and dangers, had to be traveled in order to procure a 
legal warrant or license. Horses were few, and many other almost 
unsurmountable barriers interposed to force them to violate the law, * 
therefore there is some apology at least to be made for the course of 
these ignorant poor people. Jacob Robertson was presented for being 
a vagrant, and then the first grand jury adjourned. 

^ FIRST JAIL. 

Every indictment was found upon the evidence of the grand 
jurors, no other witnesses appearing before the jury. The following 
order was then passed. 

' Ordered, that the block house near John Husbands be considered the jail 
for the county, and that the Sheriff caube a door and lock to be fixed to the 
hou'^e and charge the same to the county. Whereupon the Sheriff, Andrew 
Rowan, accepted to the sufficiency of the said jail." 

The block house mentioned in this ordev was located on the river 
front near the site of the railroad bridge. It was uninhabited at the 
time, was a small concern built of rough logs, and not near so comfor- 
table or strong as an ordinary nowaday stock stable. 

TRIAL OF THE HARPE WOMEN. 

Big Harpe, one of the brutal murderers of Mrs. Moses Stegall, 
her little son and William Love, having been pursued and killed, and 
the three wives of Big and Little Harpe captured, the three women 
were brought to Henderson and placed in the county jail. On the 
fourth day of September, 1799 following, a Court of Quarter Sessions 
was called and held for the axamination of Susanah and Sally Harpe, 
and Betty Roberts, wives of Big and Little Harpe, and commuted for 
being parties to the murder of Mrs, Stegall and others, and the burn^ 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 105 

ing of the house on the night of the twentieth of August, General Sam 
uel Hopkins and Abraham Landers, presiding. The prisoners were 
set to the bar by the Sheriff, aRfl being charged with the following, 
denied the fact ; witnesses were sworn, and upon the evidence being 
heard, it was adjudged by the court that the women were guilty and 
that they ought to be tried before the Judges of the District Court at 
Russelville. They were remanded to jail and, guards placed over 
them. John Rieper, Neil Lindsay, Isham Sellers and Mathew Chris- 
tian were recognized to appear before the district court at its next 
session. Andrew Rowan, High Sheriff, and Amos Kuykendall, 
John Standley, Green Massey and Gibson Hardin, guards, were or- 
dered to proceed with the Harpe women to Russellville, which they 
did. The wives of Big and Little Harpe were the first prisoners in- 
carcerated in the first prison house of the county. 

OLD-TIME HARD CASES. 

At the October court a grand jury was empanneled, and after de- 
liberating, returned two indictments, one against Amos Kuykendall 
and Matthew Christian, quite noted characters at that time; and pos- 
itively notorious afterwards. These two men were indicted for " pro- 
fane swearing, and for stripping and ill-treating the company at David 
Johnston's house-raising," The second indictment was against Amos 
Kuykendall and William Hunford, for riding through the roads of the 
town naked. These men were terrible fellows when under the influ- 
ence of liquor, and no more daring or unsightly scene had ever 
been witnessed. They were mounted upon spirited horses, unsaddled 
and at railroad speed dashed up, and down, out and in each of the pub- 
lic roads of the town. Their imitation of Indian habits, was more 
than the good people could bear, and as a preventive of future parades, 
the strong arm of the law was called in to punish this, their first ex- 
periment. 

At the March term, 1800, Ambrose Barbour was appointed tempor- 
ary clerk of the court, and executed bonds in the sum of one thou- 
sand pounds. 

PROFANE LANGUAGE. 

Early in this year Rev. James McGready, a very distinguished 
divine, in what was called the Green River country, held his great re- 
vival of religion. The outlaws had been driven out of the^'county, 
honest men ventured to speak, primitive society settled down to the 
realities of busy life and religious excitement ran high. 



106 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Everybody became enthusiastic, for it was not to be denied that 
the untiring labors of Mr. McGrjsady, and those who assisted him, 
had been the means of restoring the country to law and order, and 
regulating rude ways to a proper observance of moral and true busi- 
ness principles. That looseness, which had hitherto governed men 
and women in their character and actions, had given way to the more 
refined and virtuous teachings of the preachers, and although men 
profained themselves, they did not justify profanity in others. A 
grand juror, who half an hour before had secretly taken the name of 
the Lord in vain, was willing to sign his name to an indictment against 
his less fortunate neighbor who had done the same thing, but in 
public. 

There seemed to be a religious determination to put a stop to pro- 
fane swearing, and no matter who sinned, if detected, he was sure to be 
made a victim of the law. At this court, General Samuel Hopkins, 
Eneas McCallister and Andrew Rowan, the first Chief Justice of 
the court, under whose authority the grand jury was empanneled, the 
second Chief Magistrate of the County Court and the third High 
Sheriff of the county, were each indicted for profane swearing, and 
like old patriots, confessed the fact and paid their fines without a mur- 
mur. 

The annual report of taxes received by John David Haussman, 
former Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions and County Court, pur- 
suant to an act of the Assembly, approved the twenty-eighth of Febru- 
ary, 1797, entitled, " An act to amend and reduce into one, the several 
acts establishing a permanent revenue," was presented, and will give 
an idea of the littleness of court business in early times : 

" To tax on 5 original writs 25c. each, ^l 25 

" " •' 4 deeds of land 25c. " 1 00 ■ 

" " " 2countyseals 25c. " 50 

$2 75 
Commissions, 5 per cent 13.7»^ 

$2 61.2>/2 

John Husbands was directed to let the building of a stray-pen on 
the Public Square, for the benefit of the county, to be two poles square 
of posts and rails, with a sufficient gate, fastened with a good pad- 
lock. This pen ornamented the square up to the year 1822, when 
Joel Lambert, (who, by the by, married Miss Polly Husbands, the 
accomplished daughter of John Husbands), was awarded the contract 
for removing it, and rebuilding a new one at a cost of seventy-four 
dollars and seventy-five cents. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 107 

WATER MILLS. 

From 1800 to 1813 numerous applications were made to the 
County Court for the right to dam the several creeks of the county, 
and erect mills on the sites selected. Between the bridge on the 
Owensboro Road and the mouth of Big Canoe Creek, opposite the- 
Lower Island, there were built five mills, all to be operated by water- 
power, furnished by dams built across the stream. There were several 
on Sheffer^s Creek, one or more on Strong Water, and half-dozen 
or more on Highland Creek. There were certain seasons for run- 
ning these mills — mainly in the fall and spring months. In dry 
weather thev were useless. Of all these mills, not over three or four 
of them made much pretentions to grinding. Notably among the num- 
ber, were the Brookin Taylor Mill, at the crossing on the Madisonvllle 
Road, and the James Lyne Mill, at the crossing on the Morganfield 
Road. 

In order to assist the County Court in the erection of public 
buildings, General Samuel Hopkins, agent of Richard Henderson 
& Co., directed George HoUoway to survey and set apart to the 
county, for public purposes, two acres, to be taken off of the public 
square. This survey was made, and includes the place where the 
Court House now stands. 

At the July term of Court,1810, the High Sheriff, Andrew Rowan, 
indulged too freely of a mild, spiritual intoxicant, called " bounce," 
and spoke a profane line or two, contrary to the peace and dignity of 
the Commonwealth, for which he was " bounced " upon by the grand 
jury and made to pay a good round sum. The indictment accused 
him of being drtinl:, and nevertheless it was about time to celebrate 
the Fourth of July, which fact failed to serve as a vindication or ex- 
emption. 

The County Court appointed Abner Kuykendall, William Gates 
and Humphrey Barnett, commissioners, to view a road from the Town 
of Henderson to the main fork of Highland Creek. This road crossed 
Canoe Creek about one hundred yards above the old ford on the trace 
to Diamond Island. 

Unruly boys were not tolerated in those days. Isaac Dunn, 
son of Captain John Dunn, of whom mention has heretofore been 
made, become a pest to his mother, who was then a widow, and like- 
wise an eyesore to the comriiunity. He had been apprenticed, but did 
nothing more than annoy his master. The court took official notice 
of his behavior, and John Husbands one of the Magistrates, wrote a 
note to Mrs. Dunn, informing her that the court would not tolerate 



108 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

him longer, but would proceed to enforce obedience. What the court 
did is not known. Loafing men and boys received but little encour- 
agement or countenance from the court. They were apprenticed or 
proceeded against as vagrants. 

The second felony case brought to the attention of the Court of 
Quarter Sessions was that of George Adams, for stabbing John Hus- 
bands, Jr., a son of the Magistrate, and brother of Mrs. Joel Lambert. 

Ambrose Barbour, who had been appointed temporary Clerk of 
the Court of Quarter Sessions and County Court, produced in open 
court a certificate, signed by two Judges of the Court of Appeals, cer- 
tifying to his qualifications to do the duties required in the office, and 
was thereupon appointed Clerk of both Courts, to hold his office 
during good behavior. 

ELECTIONS. 

Under the old constitution elections were not conducted as they 
now are. A copy of the law, approved December 21, 1799, will suf- 
fice to explain : 

Be it enacted, etc.. That the Sheriff of each county within this Com- 
monwealth, shall, at least one month previous to the first Monday in May, 1800, 
and at least one month previous to the first Monday in August, in the year 1801, 
and also previous to the first Monday in August, in every year forever there- 
after, notify the inhabitants of his county, by advertisement setup at the door 
of the Court House thereof, of the time and place of holding the election then 
next ensuing, and what offices are to be fillejd by such election , The Sheriff", 
or other presiding officers, shall, on the day of every election, open the poll by 
ten o'clock in the inorning, and continue the same open until at least one hour 
before sunset each day, Tor three days successively, if necessary, or if any one 
of the candidates for any of the offices to be filled by such election, shall re- 
quest it, the Justices of the County Court shall, at their court next preceding 
the first Monday in May, and at their court next preceding the first Monday in 
August, J 801, and also at their court next preceding the first Monday in 
August in every year forever thereafter, appoint two of their own number as 
judges of the election next ensuing, and also a proper person to act as clerk, 
who shall continue in office one year. In case the County Court shall fail to 
make said appointments, or the persons, or any of them fail to attend, the 
Sheriff shall immediately preceding any election appoint proper persons to act 
in their stead. Any person, who shall vote tnore than once at any election, 
shall, upon conviction, forfeit and pay for every such vote, ten dollars, to be re- 
coverable with costs, before any justice of the Peace, one-half to the use of 
the county, and the other half to the person suing for the same." 

Under this act, a voter was allowed to cast his vote in any pre- 
cinct of the county, but not to vote more than once, under penalty. 
The Sheriff, or one of his deputies, was required to be in Frankfort 
on the seventeenth day succeeding the day of the commencement of 



/ 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 109 

any general election, to assist the Sheriffs of other counties in com- 
paring the polls taken at the election for Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor. ^ 

It was further enacted^ " That this State shall be diveded into two districts — 
that is to say, all the counties lying on the south side of the Kentucky River 
shall compose one district, and all the counties on the north side of the said 
river shall compose another district. The persons qualfied to vote by law for 
members to Congress, to the House of Representatives, shall assemble at their 
respective Court Houses on the first Monday in August, in the year 1801, and 
on the same day every two years thereafter, and then and there vote for some 
proper and discreet person, being an inhabitant of this State, who shall have 
attained the age of twenty -five years, and have been seven years a citizen of the 
United States, as a member of the House of Representatives of the United 
States for the term of two years. Immediately after the poll is closed, the 
Sheriff, Judges and Clerk shall proceed to examine the vote, and after truly 
ascertaining the same, shall proceed to make return, which shall be delivered 
to the Sheriff holding such election, which return shall be taken by the Sherifis 
in the Southern Districts to the Court House of the County of Mercer, and 
there compare and certify the election. For this service the Sherifts shall re- 
ceive for their trouble and expense, the sum of one dollar per day ferriage, 
and three cents per mile for traveling to and returning from the county in 
which they are required to meet. 

And he it further enacted. That for the purpose of choosing four electors 
in behalf of this State, to vote for a President and Vice President, the several 
counties in this Commonwealth shall be allotted into four districts in the fol- 
lowing manner, to- wit: The counties of Lincoln, Mercer, Garrard, Madison, 
Pulaski, Logan, Warren* Barren, Christian, Livingston, Henderson, Muhl- 
lenburg and Ohio shall compose the Second District. JThat the persons quali- 
fied by law to vote for members to the General Assembly in each county com- 
posing a district, shall assemble in their Court Houses on the second Tuesday 
in November, in the year 1800, and on the same day in every fourth year suc- 
ceeding, and vote for some discreet and proper person, being an actual resident 
in such district, lor one year preceding, as an elector for such district, to vote 
for President of the United States." 

Under an act for apportioning the representation among the sev- 
eral counties, and for laying off the State into Senatorial Districts, 
approved December 19, 1799, the counties of Livingston and Hen- 
derson were made one representative district, and entitled to one 
member. The countiesof Livingston, Henderson, Muhlenburg and 
Ohio, made one senatorial district, and entitled to one member. John 
Caldwell, of Muhlenburg, was elected first Senator, and General Sam- 
uel Hopkins, of Henderson, first Representative. Henderson and 
Livingston Counties continued as one district until, by an act approved 
December 27, 1803, Henderson was made one district, and given the 
right to elect one Representative. 



110 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

I 

PRECINCTS. 

From the first election held in 1800, to the last election held in 
1804, there was but one voting place established in the county — thit 
one at the Court House, in the Town of Henderson. On the sixth 
day of December, 1804, the following act was approved : 

And he it further enacted, That the County of Henderson shall be divided 
into two election precincts, by a line beginning at the month of Deer Creek, on 
Green River, thence up the said creek to the mouth of Black's and Newman's 
sugar camp branch, thence up the same to the head thereof, thence such a 
course as -will strike the Crab Orchard lork of Tradewater at the nearest port, 
thence down said fork to a large lick, about two miles above the mouth of 
Caney Fork, thence a southwest line to Tradewater." 

Two years thereafter, to-wit : on the sixth day of December, 1806, 
an act creating the County of Hopkins, was approved and included 
in its bounds the greater part of the second election precinct. Prior 
to that time, however, it will be observed with what difficulties settlers 
had to contend, in order to exercise the right to elective franchise. 
For that reason the elections were held three days. Under the old 
constitution magistrates and sheriffs were appointed by the Governor. 
Jailors, coroners, constables, collectors, inspectors, processioners, sur- 
veyors and other minor officers were appointed by the County Court. 



CHAPTER XII. 



TOBACCO AS A CURRENCY — TOBACCO INSPECTION RISE OF THE TOBACCO 

INTEREST PRIMITIVE COURTS— INDICTMENTS, MARRIAGES, 

BRIDGES, ETC. 

y^HIS decade opened with all of the machinery of government 
^^ running more smoothly and a greater disposition on the part of 
the people to improve the country, as they had their morals. The 
laws by which they were to be governed had become pretty generally 
understood, and a determination to obey and enforce obedience, if 
necessary, was a settled conviction of a large majority of the settlers. 
Larger crops ware grown, and the system of cultivating, tobacco 
particularly, had been adopted. 

No body of land offered superior quality of soil for the produc- 
tion of cerials and tobacco. In fact the low lands, as well as a greater 
part of the hill lands, were found to be superb in producing capacity. 

TOBACCO AS A CURRENCY. 

Tobacco, as far back as 1792, was the equal of money in every 
respect. All officers' fees at that time, fixed by law, were chargeable 
and receivable in tobacco. By an act of the Assembly, approved 
June 28 of that year, this law was repealed and all fees made charge- 
able and receivable in the currency of the State. This act went fur- 
ther, to wit : '•' And for every pound of tobacco allowed by any ex- 
isting laws, to any officer, witness, or other person as a compensation 
for any service, they shall in lieu thereof be entitled to receive one 
penny current money of Kentucky. That for all forfeitures and fines, 
in tobacco, in force in this State, suits may be instituted and recov- 
ered in money at the same rate." 



112 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

An act approved December 21, 1792, revived the English law of 
1745, so far as the same related to sheriffs, and gave them their fees 
payable in tobacco at one penny, half penny per pound. December 
22, 1792, the old act was revived as to coroners, they to be paid their 
fees in specie, or transfer tobacco, at the rate of one penny, half 
penny per pound, at the option of the party charged therewith. Even 
up to 1813 and 1815 the penalty attaching to constables' bonds was 
made payable in tobacco. 

TOBACCO INSPECTION. 

Inspection warehouses having been established in many of the 
counties of the State, on the tenth day of February a general law 
was passed, regulating the handling of tobacco. 

Henderson being the largest tobacco growing county in the State 
at that time, those interested in the growth of the weed will doubtless 
be gratified to know something of this law and how it affected their 
ancestors and predecessors in selling and shipping. 

Such parts of the law as are deemed material for this purpose 
are here incorporated : 

" It was enacted, etc.. That no person shall put on board or receive in any 
boat or vessel in order to be exported therein, any tobacco not packed in 
hogsheads or casks, to be in tliat or any other boat or vessel, exported out of 
this State, before the same shall have been inspected and reviewed, but that 
all tobacco whatsoever, to be received or taken on board of any boat for ex- 
portation, shall be received and taken on board at the several warehouses, or 
some one of them, and no other place whatsoever/' 

Masters of boats were prohibited from carrying unstamped to- 
bacco under a penalty of a fine of fifty pounds, while the servants 
had the following law to guide them : 

*' And if any servant, or other person, employed in navigating any such 
boat or other vessel, shall connive at, or conceal the taking or receiving on 
board, any tobacco in bulk or parcel, he shall pay the sum of five pounds, 
and if such servant or other person shall be unable to pay the said sum, he or 
they,' and every slave so employed, shall by order of a magistrate receive on 
his bareback, thirty -nine lashes, tvell laid on.^^ 

The owners of tobacco were authorized to break any hogshead for 
the purpose of repacking or prizing for the convenience of storage, 
provided the original package had been stamped, and that the -change 
was made at the warehouse where the same was inspected, weighed, 
marked and stamped. 

Owners of tobacco were allowed to carry the same in bulk or 
parcels on board of any boat to a licensed warehouse, or from one 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 113 

plantation to another for better handling or managing thereof, or thev 
were allowed to bring their tobacco by boat to a warehouse to be re- 
packed, sorted, stemmed or prized, provided it was packed in hogsheads 
or casks. The warehouse keeper was allowed as rent three shillings 
for each hogshead of tobacco received, inspected and delivered out 
of his house. In addition he was allowed on all tobacco remaining 
in the warehouse over twelve months three pence per month, to be 
paid by the owner. 

Inspectors were allowed four shillings and sixpence on each hogs- 
head. This was their full fee and no salary or other fee was allowed. 
All tobacco that was brought to a warehouse was required to be in- 
spected by two licensed inspectors, who were required to reject all to- 
bacco that was not sound, well conditioned merchantable and free from 
trash. In case any tobacco was refused by the inspectors, the owner 
was at liberty to separate the good from the bad, but in case he re- 
fused or failed for one month to do this, the inspectors were to employ 
one of the pickers attending the warehouse to pick and separate the 
same, for which they were paid one-fifth part of the tobacco saved, 
and the tobacco adjudged unfit to save was placed in a '* funnel " 
erected by law and burned. 

If any tobacco packed in any hogshead or cask by any overseer, 
or the hands under his care, was burned by the inspectors, by reason 
of its being bad, unsound or in bad condition, the overseer who had 
the care of making and packing the same, suffered the loss of the to- 
bacco so burned. All tobacco brought to the warehouse for exporta- 
tion by the owner was required to be examined and weighed, and if 
found good to be stamped and the owner given a receipt, stating 
whether the tobacco so received was sweet scented or Oronocko, stemmed 
or leaf, and whether tied up in bundles or not. For every hogshead 
exported by land or water the owner was required to pay seven shil- 
lings and six pence and find the nails for securing the same, or pay 
eight pence per hogshead for each hogshead so secured by the inspec- 
tors. 

On the twenty-first day of December, 1825, the following act was 
approved : "That froni and after the passage of this act all purchas- 
ers of tobacco within this Commonwealth shall be at liberty to export 
the same without having the same inspected." 

Tobacco inspection warehouses were established by law in Hen- 
derson, and from 1801 up to the passage of the act, December 21, 
1825, all tobacco was handled by and passed through some legally 
authorized warehouse. In those days every planter packed his to- 

8 



114 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

bacco into hogsheads and boxes, and such a thing as bringing a crop 
to market loose was unknown. Subsequent to December, 1825, stem- 
nieries were erected, and the business of inspecting and handling to- 
bacco gradually grew less, until the warehouses were finally exter- 
minated. They continued to do business, however, until 1835. After 
the establishment of stemmeries, planters ceased, to a very great ex- 
tent, to pack in hogsheads, but begun the system of delivery of loose 
tobacco by wagons. 

RISE OF THE TOBACCO INTEREST. 

Henderson soon became the first strip market of the country, 
and those who engaged early in stemming made large fortunes. The 
Ohio and Mississippi Rivers furnished an outlet for all the produce 
of the country. Flat boats and barges being used before the intro- 
duction of steam machinery, many of the earlier citizens of Hender- 
son engaged in floating merchandise to New Orleans where they, after 
disposing of their produce, would either sell their boats orelse cordelle 
them back up the river. It was indeed a very common custom to 
float down the rivers and return overland on foot. 

General Samuel Hopkins having resigned his commission as Chief 
Justice of the Court of Quarter Sessions, Jacob Barnett was ap- 
pointed by the Governor in his stead, and at the March term, 1801, 
took his seat upon the bench. 

Mr. Barnett served but a short time when he died. Abraham 
Landers resigned and the two vacancies were filled by the appointment 
of Dr. Adam Rankin and John Holloway in 1802. That court at this 
time was composed of Hugh Knox, Dr. Rankin and John Holloway. 

A PRIMITIVE COURT. 

This primitive court, as is the case with all such, was a sort of 
free and easy. The ordinary hanger-on considered himself the equal of 
the Judge, in point of legal intelligence, and reserved to himself the 
ri<^ht to perpetrate jokes, prop his feet upon the window sill, and 
even at times to elevate them along side of the Judge on his punch- 
eon bench, just as the humor moved him. 

Judge Knox, the Chief Justice, after the death of General Hop- 
kins, was a man of many good points, an old bachelor, and one given 
to bachanalian frolics, sometimes social looseness, for which he was 
frequently indicted by the grand jury. Whenever an indictment was 
found against him he plead guilty, and was fined without a murmur, 
and then with commendable promptness would pay his fine. He was 
never known to ask mercy or favor, but having settled his own little 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, ICY. Il5 

difficulties, would return to the bench and administer similar justice 
to others who had violated the written law. 

The two assistant Justices,"Dr. Rankin and John Holloway, were 
men quite unlike the Chief Justice ; they were thorough business 
men, of settled habits and fine intelligence. They believed in up- 
holding society and bringing it under the highest standard of morals, 
virtue and religious training. 

If one is to be justified in what he may read in the early records, 
it is safe to infer that society in the early days of the county was 
rather below par. 

It was a very common occurrence for men to sue for debt and 
fail ingloriously to make out a case, from the fact the debt had been 
previously paid, and the defendant fortunately for himself, held a re- 
ceipt. In this case the order of the court would conclude : " It is 
therefore ordered that the plaintiff take nothing by his bill, but that 
he be in mercy of the court for his false clamor, etc." 

A peculiar, and perhaps unheard of proceeding, was had in one 
of the early courts A grand jury was empanneled composed of the 
required number of veniremen, who returned to the court several in- 
dictments, found upon the evidence of members of the jury. The 
next day when the indictments were called for trial, there were not a 
sufficient number of legally qualified males in the house, or around 
the village from which to secure a petit jury, so a part of the jury 
was made up of the grand jury, who had found the indictments. It is 
perhaps the only case known where the same man served as grand 
juror in finding an indictment and petit juror in trying the same. 

At this term, to wit : May, 1801, Wm. B. Blackburn, who had 
made an efficient Commonwealth attorney for the county, resigned 
his office, and James Bell, Esq., was appointed to fill the vacancy. 

A DRUNK JURY. 

At the same time there was another rather strange procedure, at 
least it would be so regarded at this time. In the suit of William 
Dunn vs. John Lankford, after the jury had been sworn, and the evi- 
dence heard, and the case argued, it appeared as well to the court as 
the parties interested, tljat Thomas Houseley, one of the jurors, was 
very drunk, so much so as to be incapacitated to render any verdict. 
By consent of the parties and their attorneys and at the command oi the 
court, Houseley was withdrawn and Jonathan Anthony, a bystander, 
who had heard the evidence, and the arguments of the attorneys of 
both parties, was called and his name affixed to the panel. He was 



116 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

examined, elected, and then sworn to try the issue. After awhile it 
was discovered that another juryman was too far gone, as to know 
whether he was sitting in a jury box or in a variety theatre. By this 
time the court became disgusted and ordered the case to be contin- 
ued to the next court, not, however, without first placing the two jury- 
men under a two dollar obligation each, which they were ordered to 
make good else be locked in the dungeon. 

FIRST LIQUOR DEALER INDICTED. 

Mr. Hugh McGary, who figures in several parts of the early his- 
tory of this work, was indicted for selling liquor without license, and 
was the first person found guilty of such an offense in the county. 

SQUIRE m'bEE and MARRIAGE. 

In 1802, there being so few ministers, old Squire Silas McBee 
was authorized by the County Court to solemnize the rites of mar- 
riage, and from what can be learned from him, he was rather given to 
humor, and indulged the propensity frequently. 

Ministers were licensed to solemnize marital rites, according to 
the rules of the church to which they belonged, and required to re- 
turn the license to the clerk of the County Court with his indorse- 
ment thereon. Many of these old-time returns are amusing, as much 
perhaps for their illiterate entierty as their originality. The license 
sometimes directed the parties to be married according to the rules 
and rites of some certain church. Esquire McBee happened to be 
called in on one occasion and was given a license intended to be sol- 
emnized by a Cumberland Presbyterian. He, in his hurried way, 
joined the parties in marriage, and returned the license with the fol- 
lowing- indorsement : '* I jined them according to the rites and cere- 
monies of the Cumberland Church, to which church, I say now, I 
don't belong." The old Squire was honest to say the least of it. 

FIRST MOB. 

Amos Kuykendall, of bare-back notoriety ; Abner Kuykendall, 
and James Walton, concluded to take the village, and were arrested 
by the Sheriff. A short time afterwards, a mob (the first one ever- 
organized), composed of Robert McGary, William McGary, Hugh 
McGary, Jr., Andrew Bratton, Thomas Fletcher and Solomon Nesler 
appeared in the presence of the Sheriff and demanded the surrender 
of the prisoners. Being overpowered, he had but one alternative left 
him, and that he exercised. The prisoners were given up. For this, 
at the May term of the Court of Quarter Sessions, each member of 
the mob was indicted, for rescuing with force and arms, said prisoners 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 117 

from the custody of the Sheriff, in the Town of Henderson, on the first 
day of August. 

BRIDGES. 

The County Court, during this year, turned its attention to the 
propriety of building bridges over several creeks at important fords, 
but nothing was done in the way of building until the year following, 
1803. In this year, Edmund Hopkins and Dr. Adam Rankin were 
appointed conrmissioners, with power to bridge Canoe Creek, at the 
crossings on the Owensboro Road, Madisonville Road, and Morganfield 
Road, as now. This they did, paying tor the bridges the sum of 
ninety dollars each. No spike nails were to be had at that time, so 
the poles were pinned down at each end with wooden pins. These 
were cheap structures, of course, and lasted but a short time ; however, 
were far better than nothing, and correspondingly appreciated by the 
people. 

FIRST FELONY ON DOCKET. 

On the tw^enty-first day of April, 1803, the little village was com- 
pletely upset by the arrest of Hugh McGary, charged feloniously steal- 
ing and carrying away nineteen English guineas, two half-eagles, thirty 
dollars in silver and six hundred dollars in bank notes, the property of 
Samuel Baker, a guest of McGary's Tavern and whisky shop. This was, 
perhaps, a greater bulk of metalic and paper values than McGary had 
ever seen before, and the temptation to grow rich, even at so great a 
risk, was more than he could withstand. The District Court met at 
that time at Russeliville, and what became of the prisoner the writer 
is unable to say. 

CHEAP SERVICE. 

As an evidence of cheap travel and cheap service, the April court, 
1804, received and certified to the Auditor of Public Accounts, the ac- 
count of John Bilbo, acting Sheriff, for the sum of seventeen dollars, 
for traveling three hundred and sixty miles on horseback, and attend- 
ing to compare the polls of the election of a Senator of the State As- 
sembly, and for a Representative in Congress. 

At this court the first indictments were returned against over- 
seers of roads, but subsequent to this. time it was a common custom to 
present at each court a majority, if not everyone of those unfortunate 
office holders. 

A TOWN ON PAPER. 

At the May County Court this year, John Gray and Willis Mor- 
gan executed bond to the County Court, in the penalty of one thou- 
sand pounds, for an order granted them for the establishing of a town 



118 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

on their lands purchased of Thomas B Evans. Where this town was 
to be located, the writer has been unable to learn from any source, only 
that it was to be on the Ohio River and in Henderson County. 

LOCATION OF COLLEGE LANDS. 

February 10 and December 22, 1798, the Legislature created a 
.lumber of academies, and for the purpose of encouraging education, 
authorized and empowered the Board of Trustees, or their agents, to 
cause to be surveyed, on any vacant or unappropriated land to be 
found on the south side of Green River, six thousand acres each. Un- 
der the authority thus given. Bethel Academy, July 20, 1800, by 
Daniel Ashby, agent, located twenty-nine hundred and fifty acres, 
on Clear Creek Fork, and three thousand and fifty acres on Caney 
Fork of Tradewater. 

Livingston County, on December 20, 1802, by Justinian Cart- 
wright, agent, located five thousand two hundred and fifty acres on 
Tradewater River. 

Pendleton County, on December 22, 1802, by Justinian Cart- 
wright, located one hundred and ten acres between Pond River and 
Tradewater. 

. Livingston Academy, April 10 and July 15; 1802, by Cartwright, 
agent, located three hundred and fifty and two hundred and fifty acres 
the North and Clear Creek Forks of Tradewater. 

Harrodsburgh Seminary, on July 2, 1804, by Peter Casey, agent, 
located three thousand acres on the North Fork of Tradewater River. 
This made a total of fifteen thousand seven hundred and sixty acres 
of Henderson County lands, given by the State, to counties and acad- 
emies in other parts of the State. 

In October, 1804, the last Court of Quarter Sessions was held, 
the same having been abolished, and a Circuit Court substituted in its 
stead. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF FERRIES THE FIRST BOAT — FARMING THE SHER- 

IFFALITY — MANLY COURSE OF JUGE TOWLES — WHIP-SAWING — 
COLD FRIDAY — HOPKINS COUNTY FORMED — AUDU- 
BON WORKING GREEN RIVER, ETC., ETC. 

/(pwHE year 1800 was ushered in with a greatly increased population 
and still brighter hopes of the future. A number of families, com- 
posing the best people of the States, had found their way to the new 
land, and were actively engaged with the earlier settlers in opening 
up the wild woods, clearing the barrens and preparing the lands for 
an intelligent cultivation. 

FERRIES. 

Ferries were established at Henderson and several points in the 
the county along the Ohio and Green Rivers. Roads were opened 
and bridges built, and while the revenue was yet very small and the 
delinquent list correspondingly large, still every dollar of the peoples' 
money was judiciously expended with a view to the ultimate good of 
the county. General Samuel Hopkins estabUshed the first public 
ferry at the mouth of Green River, from the Kentucky to the Indiana 
shore. The first ferry at Henderson was established by Jonathan An- 
thony in 1802. 

AN OHIO RIVER SHIP. 

The first vessel of any magnitude, or even respectability, which 
passed Henderson en route to the Mississippi, was a ship built at 
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, in May, 1800. She started on her first 
journey with seven hundred and twenty barrels of flour. At Louis- 



120 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ville she was detained on account of low water, till the following Jan- 
uary, but during that month, while the river was clear of ice, she came 
sailing on down, passing Henderson two days after leaving Louisville. 
At Fort Massac, Illinois, she added to her cargo, for the New Orleans 
market, two thousand bear skins and four thousand deer skins. In the 
spring of 1805, a beautiful little sailing vessel, of seventy tons burthen, 
fitly called the " Nonpariel," passed down for New Orleans. 

In this year two warehouses were established for the inspection 
of beef, pork, flour, hemp and tobacco. Philip Barbour and Meri- 
dith Fisher were appointed inspectors. 

On the first day of April, 1805, the first Circuit Court held its sit- 
ting, with Judge Henry P. Broadnax upon the bench, assisted by 
Dr. Adam Rankin and Hugh Knox. William Featherston, Samuel 
Work, Christopher Tompkins, James Bell and John Daviess were au- 
thorized and admitted to practice as attorneys in this court. William 
Featherston was appointed Commonwealth's Attorney for the county. 
At the July term of this court, John Grey, Alney McLean, Charles 
Henderson, Henry Delano and John Campbell, were admitted as at- 
torneys. 

FARMING THE SHERIFFALITY. 

The Sheriffs of the county, prior to 1805, and for sometime after- 
wards, were extremely loose in their mode of doing business, and in 
more than one instance came to grief from their own negligence and 
that of their deputies. Under the old constitution, the oldest serving 
Magistrate was entitled, by rot.ition, to the office of sheriff, and was 
invariably appointed as such by the Governor, and yet there is not 
more than one, perhaps two instances, wherein the legally appointed 
sheriff performed the duties of the office. It was the custom of the 
Magistrate receiving the appointment, even up to the adoption of the 
new constitution, to farm out the office — that is to say, sell the 
office to some one or two parties, and take from them bond to secure 
him from loss. 

There was no objection urged to this system until 1835, at which 
time Judge Thomas Towles was entitled to the office, but waived his 
right, and consented to remain on the bench. The county then, as 
now, had its meddlers and office-seekers, and of course there were 
men to insinuate and complain. Judge Towles at that time failed to 
be apprised of what was said, but hearing of it afterwards, determined 
to exhonorate himself from any degree of discredit. At the next 
meeting of the County Court, he called the attention of the Court to 
certain objections to his longer serving, and at the same time tendered 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTV, KY. 121 

his resignation as magistrate. There was a determination not to ac- 
cept it, but the Judge was positiv^e upon that point, and the court very 
reluctantly consented to his resignation, not, however, without passing 
the following order.' 

" Some years ago the County Court, having failed at the proper court to 
recommend a sheriff to the Governor, the said Thomas Towles, being the oldest 
and senior justice of the said county, waived his right to the sheriff ally , and by 
general consent John Green was appointed sheriff for the term to which said 
Towles would have been entitled, and the said Towles, by reqiiest, continued 
in office as a justice, and did not resign until this day, when some objections 
being made to the practice of justices selling the sheriffalty and holding on to 
the office of magistrate, he, the said Towles (although urged not to do so), 
thereupon resigned. The Justices present reposing entire confidence in the 
integrity, judgment, legal knowledge, skill and ability of the said Thomas 
Towles, Sr., and believing his assistance as a member of the County Court 
to be important to the interest of the county, have therefore recommended 
him to the Governor to fill the vacancy occasioned by his resignation." 

In a month afterwards Judge^Towles was reappointed and reas- 
sumed his labors as before, and this forever hushed any complaints. 

On the twenty-third day of February, 1805, the Harrodsburgh 
Seminary, by Peter Casey, agent, made another grab of Henderson 
County land, locating at this time on Highland Creek three thousand 
acres. 

BRIDGES. 

Early in the fall of 1806 the first bridges built commenced giv- 
ing way, and how to repair them or rebuild them was a question the 
County Court found considerable difficulty in determining, from the fact 
of the smallness of the levy and the greatness of the delinquent list. 
Finally, after considering the matter thoroughly, it was determined to 
rebuild the bridge leading toTradewater River over Canoe Creek, on 
the now Madisonville Road, and one over the Town Fork of Canoe lead- 
ing to Owensboro, by subscription, if possible, if not, to raise by that 
means as great an amount as possible and to pledge the county for 
the remainder. A contract was entered into with William Anthony 
to build a new bridge over the crossing leading to Tradewater at a 
cost of two hundred and twenty-two dollars, one hundred and thirty- 
two dollars more than the first bridge cost, and with John Stanley and 
William Kavanaugh to bridge the crossing leading to Owensboro at a 
cost of ninety dollars, the same cost as the first bridge. As has been 
said in a previous chapter, the original bridges were cheap structures, 
mostly built of poles. To give an idea of the second structures the 
specifications of the Town Fork bridge are here inserted : " The 



122 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. ^ 

bridge is to be twelve feet wide in the clear, with two arches, the first 
across the stream 27 feet, the second to where -it lands on the west 
side to be 23 feet, the two t*'ussels to be 3 feet high from the top of the 
mud sill, the mud sills to be hewn 20 inches by 16, the cap sills 18 by 
14, the trussel posts 15 by 12, braces 14 by 6, sleepers 16 by 6, to be 
laid in sixteen inches of each other, the plank to be sawed a foot or 
more inches and 3 inches thick." 

WHIP SAWING. 

From this the reader would judge that such a thing as a sawmill 
had been established in the county, but that is a mistake ; there were 
no sawmills. Planks were ripped from hewn logs by a system denom- 
inated " whip sawing," an upright saw, working perpendicularly, with 
one man above the other, to do the work now done by engines and 
steam. This was a tedious process, yet the weather-boarding and 
framing timbers for all of the houses built in Henderson prior to 1818, 
was sawed in this way. There are at the present time, three houses 
standing in the city with the same weather-boarding which was nailed 
on at the time of their building, between 1810 and 1818. These 
buildings will be noticed in their proper order. 

The April, 1806, Circuit Court came on, and with it that pests of 
all pests, the grand jury. Judge Knox, one of the Associate Justices, 
was once again made a victim on account of his passionate indiscre- 
tions, and with his usual adamantine face and limitless cheek, con- 
fessed the corn and paid his fine. 

Henderson County was now eight years old by legislative recog- 
nition, and yet the morals of the people had not been reduced to that 
beautiful simplicity and religious standard the punctilious so devoutly 
wished. Some men would profanely take the name of the Lord in 
vain and yet punishment was as certain as taxes. The grand jury 
was no respector of persons, on the contrary they rather took a de- 
light in making examples of the leading men whenever the opportu- 
nity presented itself. Henry P. Broadnax, Judge of the Circuit Court, 
William Featherston, Commonwealth's Attorney, Joel Lambert and 
Thomas G. Walker were each indicted at this term for profane swear- 
ing and fined the round sum of five shillings each, which they paid 
without a wordf It is just to say, however, that the morals of the 
young county were far better, considering the character of the popu- 
lation as a whole, than well could be expected of a similar settlement 
composed of men of these days. There were but few indictments 
brought in by the grand jury, and they were mostly confined to minor 
offenses. ■ 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 123 

SEMINARY LANDS. 

In the month of April the trustees of the Hartford Academy 
located on the north fork of Tradewater two hundred and forty- 
four acres of land. On the twentieth of Semptember Bethel Semin- 
ary, by David Ashley, a^ent, entered one thousand acres on some 
small branches emptying into the Ohio River. 

On the eleventh day of February Henderson and Hopkins 
Counties were declared by law one Senatorial district, and at the fol- 
lowing election Daniel Ashby,of Hopkins, was elected. 

COLD FRIDAY. 

Nothing particularly interesting occurred during 1807, except the 
ever •memorable "'Cold Friday," which was the subject of talk for 
years among those who felt its piercing chills. 

Mr. Collins says : " On Thursday, February, 1807, the mercury 
was caused to fall sixty degrees within twelve hours by the cold winds. 
At nightfall it was mild and cloudy. After night it commenced rain- 
ing with a high west wind. This rain soon changed to a snow, which 
continued to fall rapidly to the depth of six inches, but the wind, which 
moved at the rate of a hurricane, soon lifted and dispersed the clouds, 
and within the short space of twelve hours from the close of a very 
mild Thursday, all Ke^ntucky was treated to a gentle rain, a violent 
snow storm, and a bright sunshine morning, so bitterly cold that by 
acclamation it was termed ''Cold Friday," On the morning of this 
day the trees in the forests were cracking like the report of guns, and 
everything was bound in the fetters of ice." 

The County of Hopkins was formed during the early part of this 
year, although the act of the Legislature sub-dividing Henderson 
County was approved December 9, 1806. 

The first case under an act to permit debtors to confess judg- 
ment in a summary way, was heard at the July term of the Circuit 
Court. 

Assistant Judge Hugh Knox, who also held the distinguished 
office of surveyor of one of the roads, was indicted and fined during 
this court for non-performance of duty. 

AUDUBON. 

Mr. Collins, in a short biographical sketch of the life of the re- 
nowned ornithologist, John J. Audubon, places his arrival in Hender- 
son during 1807, but Mrs. Audubon, in her book of his life, places it 
during the year 1812. From the most reliable testimony attainable, 



124 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

it IS most probable that his arrival dates from 1810 or 1812. On- De- 
cember 22, 1813, he purchased from General Samuel Hopkins, agent 
of Richard Henderson & Co., lots Nos. 95 and 96, half of the square 
lying on the west side of Third Street, between Green and Elm. On 
the third of September, 1814, he purchased lots Nos. 91 and 92, half 
of the square lying on the west side of Second Street, between Green 
and Elm. 

EARLY HENDERSON STREETS. 

The first mention of High Street is made in this year, and that 
in connection with an order from the County Court, appointing Meri- 
dith Fisher, John Husbands, Joseph Fuquay and Jacob Sprinkle com- 
missioners to view a roadway from High Street, in the Town of Hen- 
derson, and such other streets and lots as to them may seem best to 
intersect the roads leading to Highland a.nd Green River, at the 
mouth of Lick Creek. From the best information, the present First 
Street was originally called High Street, as Second Street was origi- 
nally known as Mill Street. 

A tobacco, hemp, flour and pork inspection warehouse was es- 
tablished at Perryville, Henderson County, and one in the Town of 
Henderson, on the lot of Philip Barbour, to be called and known by 
the name of Henderson Inspection. 

Nothing of importance occurred during ttie year 1808 save it be 
the building of common board warehouses for the reception of to- 
bacco and articles of general merchandise. It is evidently true, 
however, that the people were distressed for money during that year, 
for out of a depositum of ninety-seven dollars and ninety-eight cents, 
reported by Fielding Jones, acting Sheriff, he also reported a delin- 
quent list amounting to seventy-five dollars and thirty-seven and one- 
half cents. 

" WORKING " GREEN RIVER. 

On the sixteenth day of February the following act was ap- 
proved : 

''Beit enacted, etc. ^ That it shall and ina\ be lawful for the County 
Courts of the several counties through or by which so much of Green River 
may run as is navigable, to cause the same to be cleared out and kept in a sit 
nation fit for navigation, and for that purpose shall annually in the months of 
July, August or September, lay off said river into precincts and appoint an over 
seer to each precinct, and allot a sufficient number of hands of the male titheables 
of the county to keep the same open for navigation. That it shall be the duty 
of the overseers respectively, to call on the hands, to each of them alloted' 
and within one month thereafter, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to pro- 
ceed with such hands and remove all fish pots and dams of every description, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 125 

remove all logs, cut and clear away all timber projecting over said stream, 
shrub all points of islands, and remove such other obstructions in the channel 
as may impede the navigation of said river. Any overseer failing to do his 
duty shall be subject to the same penalties as are provided against overseers of 
roads, and every titheable failing when called on, shall forfeit and pay the sum 
of seventy-five cents for each day. All titheables working on the river shall 
be exempt from working on any of the public roads, and the number of days 
he shall be required to work on the river shall not exceed three in any one 
year." 

For many years men were appointed to work Green River as 
regularly as they were appointed to work the roads of the county. 

FIRST HABEAS CORPUS. 

The first writ of habeas corpus was granted at the April term of 
the Circuit Court, 1809, to Joseph and Sarah Wendell, and they were 
discharged from the custody of the jailer. 

CIRCUIT COURT RULES. 

The first Circuit Court rules were read, recorded aud established 
at the July meeting, and are as follows . 

''First. — There shall not more than two lawyers appear in any civil suit 
or motion, nor shall any lawyer speak more than once, unless where he appears 
alone for the plaintiff, or by leave of the court. 

" Second. — The counsel for the defendant shall a Iways have his pleas ready 
when his suit shall be called, if not, the writ of inquiry shall forthwith be exe- 
cuted. 

" Third.— The plaintiff shall not put his suit at the end of the docket, until 
he has first shown by legal grounds for a continuance, then the clerk shall 
put it at the end of the docket. 

•' Fourth. — A party obtaining a leave to amend (if any amendment operates 
as a continuance) shall pay the whole cost of the term, 

" Fifth. — On motion for a new trial, the grounds upon which such motion 
shall be made, shall be stated in writing, and affidavit filed where proof is nec- 
essary. 

*' Sixth. — No motion shall be made for a continuance until an affidavit is 
filed, stating the grounds for such continuance ; and where a witness lives out 
of the State, or a second motion is made on account of the absence of the 
same witness, the affidavit must state what the witness will swear. 

"Seventh.— Whenever any suit shall be laid over by consent, it shall be 
put at the end of the docket. 

*' Eighth, — No motion will be heard after the business of the day is taken 
up." 

At this time, and prior to this time, it was frequently the case to 
render judgment — especially in cases where the pla intiff was non- 
suited—payable in tobacco, one hundred and fifty pounds or more. 

% 



126 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

At this term of the court William B. Smith was indicted and 
fined one hundred dollars for assaulting Uriah Blue, High Sheriff. 

DANGEROUS WOMEN OR A COWARDLY MAN. 

There were dangerous women in those good old days, or else 
there was one great coward. Joseph Wendell, a hard character, who 
had, with his wife been confined in jail and released under a writ of 
habeas corpus, came into court and made affidavit that he feared great 
bodily harm would be done him by Lydia Johnson, Mary Ann and 
Sarah Horton, and prayed that they be recognized to keep the peace. 
This was done, and General Sam'l G. Hopkins, to give emphasis to 
his extreme disgust, or to show his keen appreciation of the female 
sex, volunteered security, which was accepted. Immediately there- 
after at the instance of Mrs. Wendall, the aforesaid Joseph was placed 
under similar bond, but there was no General Hopkins to volunteer 
security, and Joseph was once again placed behind the bars. 

The County Court contracted with John Williams to bridge Lick 
Creek at the Owensboro crossing, and at that time the floor sills were 
only required to be twenty-four feet long. 

The depositum reported by the Sheriff for this year, was two 
hundred and thirty-eight dollars and twenty cent. The delinquent 
list thirty-three dollars. 

By an act of the General Assembly the whole of Richard Hen- 
derson & Co.'s grant of land was taken into Henderson County. 
This was done by an act entitled, '* An act to add part of Ohio 
County to the County of Henderson^^ approved January, 1809, and is 
as follows : 

'*5e it enacted, etc., That from and after the first day of April next, all 
that part of Ohio County comprised within the following bounds, shall be 
added to, and considered a partot tiie County of Henderson, to wit : beginning 
on the Ohio at the mouth of Green River and running up the Ohio to where the 
line ot Henderson & Co.'s grant strikes the same, thence with said line to 
Green River, thence down the same to the beginning." 

By this act, what is now known as the Point Precinct, was added 
to Henderson County. 

During this year, Mr. Phillip Barbour was largely interested in 
the manufacture of salt, at the United States Saline Territory, of Illi- 
nois, and while that necessity was not so unreasonably high in price as 
it was a few years prior to that time, it was yet too high for the con- 
venience of the ordinary pocket-book. It was now manufactured in 
greater quanities, from the fact, with the opening up of the country, 
larger supplies of water had been discovered, and greater convenience 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 127 

secured for boiling and evaporating. From an old letter found, the 
following is taken, to give a limited idea of the salt trade, and how it 
was carried on from this section;,at that time. Only a few years be- 
fore, it was a difficult matter to supply Henderson and the surround- 
ing country, but the jdiscovery of the Saline Wells overstocked this 
market, and directed the attention of dealers to other and more 
populous markets. 

On July 25, 1809, Stephen Cantrell, Jr., & Co., Nashville, Tenn., 
wrote Mr. Barbour, acknowledging the receipt of a quantity of salt, 
and stating that the general price of salt in that town had been for 
some weeks past, steady at two dollars per bushel, but in order to 
effect a ready sale of his shipment, they had disposed of the entire lot 
at one dollar and seventy-five cents per bushel ; further, that the price 
would likely fall the approaching season, owing to the exportation of 
large quantities looked for. In this letter was an account of sales in 
which they charge up 5 per cent, commissions for handling and sell- 
ing. In Mr. Barbour's old papers, the following bills of lading were 
found : 

" Shipped in good order and well condition, in and upon the good boat 
called, the ' Nancy.' 31 bbls. salt, for account James Wilson, bound to Nash- 
ville, Tennessee, Charles Stewart, Master." 

*' AprillO, 1809. Shipped in good order, bv Philip Barbour, in and upon 
the good boat called, the "Ohio Packet,' James Barbour, Master, bound for 
Louisville, eighty-four bbls. salt; freight to be paid at the rate of sixty-six cents 
per hundred weight " 

CORBELLING. 

The " Nancy " and " Ohio Packet," were keelboats or barges, 
propelled by hand, for it is well known that there were no steamboats 
at that time. These were drawn up stream by ropes in the hands of 
men trudging on shore by the water's edge. The immensity of this 
undertaking can hardly be realized at this time, for it is something 
fearful nowadays to move an empty barge a few hundred yards up- 
stream, but in early days, before the introduction of steam, men cor- 
delled heavily ladened barges, unconscious of the enormity of the un- 
dertaking, and plodded along in quite as good humor, as will usually 
be found displayed by the crew of one of the largest and finest Ohio 
River steamers. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



MISTAKE IN THE CENSUS — COTTON CULTURE — CONTEMPT OF COURT — 

HORSE RACING WORKING GREEN RIVER — THE EARTHQUAKES — 

THE FIRST STEAMBOAT— FLOOD OF 1812— CUT MONEY — 
HURRICANE, ETC. 

^^HE year 1810 found the village of Henderson with a much 
V-y smaller population than it was reported to have had in 1800. The 
census return for 1800 gave Henderson a population numbering two 
hundred and five souls; tlie census return for 1810 gave a population 
of one hundred and fifty-nine souls. There was evidently a mistake 
in the first enumeration, and this is to be accounted for on the ground 
of ignorance on the part of those employed to take the list. It is 
highly probable, and no doubt the fact, that the population of a greater 
part, if not the entire surrounding country, was accredited to the 
town in the census of 1800 ; certainly there was no falling off in the 
population from 1800 to 1810. The census return for 1800 gave 
Henderson County a population of one thousand four hundred and 
sixty-eight souls, and Henderson County at that time embraced all of 
the territory now embraced in the four Counties of Henderson, Hop- 
kins, Union and Webster. The return for 1810 places the population 
at four thousand seven hundred and three souls, an increase of three 
thousand two hundred ^nd thirty-five, and yet Hopkins County em- 
bracing a territory forty miles in length and twenty six in breadth had 
been taken from Henderson. It maybe taken as a settled fact, there- 
fore, that there is an important inaccuracy somewhere, and most posi- 
tively certain that the village of Henderson did not contain a popula- 
tion of two hundred and five souls actual residejits during^ the year 
1800. 



130 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

It is very much to be doubted if the village of Henderson con- 
tained a legitimate population of one hundred and fifty-nine souls in 
1810, for, by reference to the poll books of an election held on the 
first day of May, 1819, for the purpose of choosing five trustees of 
the village, only twenty-one votes were recorded. Estimating the pop- 
ulation at seven to the voter, and assuming that the vote owing to its 
importance was pretty near a full one, the population of the place at 
that time would have been only one hundred and forty-seven. 

HEMP AND COTTON CULTURE. 

Hemp and cotton were both grown in the county this year, but 
with what success it is unknown. G. W. Warde, living on the Ohio 
River between Evansville and its mouth, cultivated both, and at the 
December term of the County Court, made application for the estab- 
lishing of an inspection warehouse. 

CONTEMPT OF COURT. 

At the July term of the Circuit Court Judge Broadnax had his 
temper and judicial courage thoroughly tested by Edward Cheatham, 
one of the venirmen, who was a man of some importance at that time. 

Mr. Cheatham engaged in conversation, and being rather strong 
of lung, inteirupted the business of the court. He was admonished 
by the Judge and yet persisted. He was fined six dollars, and this 
seemed to incense him ; he was fined ten dollars once, twice, and yet 
he refused to be quiet ; he was fined thirty dollars, once, twice and 
three times, and still he defied his Honor, the Judge. Finally he was 
ordered to prison in the custody of the jailer, there to remain until 
his several fines, aggregating one hundred and sixteen dollars, were 
paid, or secured to the Commonwealth. He ranted and raved, as he 
journeyed on to the house of correction, and not until having slept one 
night a prisoner, and calculating the cost, did he come to a proper 
understanding of how foolishly he had acted, and the extent of his 
beligerency. He succumbed to the magesty of the law, and prayed 
pardon, which was granted next day. This determined course of Judge 
Broadnax ever afterwards secured him the respect due his position, 
and no more self-important men tempted his authority. 

HORSE RACING. 

Horse racing was extremely fashionable in 1810, and perhaps 
more than half a dozen tracks were located at different points in the 
county, where men would congregate and bet from a gill of cider to 
twenty-five, and even fifty dollars lawful money. Those men who* fre- 
quented such places were, as a general rule, wild fellows, given to 
frolic and recklessness, and caring little for the Sabbath day. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 143 

militia was descending the Mississippi River to aid in the defense, 
.and when it arrived at New Orleans, was almost entirely without arms 
or ammunition, nor were there-^^-any adequate magazines in the city 
from which they could be supplied. Several boat loads of arms had 
been shipped at Pittsburg, and were then struggling through the 
shoals of the Ohio, and such was Jackson's preparation for defense. 
General Thomas' Division of Kentucky Militia arrived in the early 
part of January, but could not at first muster over five hundred mus- 
kets. Immense exertions were made to arm them, and even on the 
day of battle, there were six hundred ready and anxious to fight, who 
could not procure a musket or shotgun, with which to defend their 
country. 

HENDERSON SOLDIERS. 

Early in December, Captain Robert Smith, of Henderson County, 
and father of the present County Clerk, embarked with his company 
on board a flatboat en route to join the other Kentuckians, who were 
moving down the river to reinforce Jackson's little army. Hender- 
son was represented in this command by Captain Robert Smith ; First 
Lieutenant, Morton Rucker ; Asa Turner, Ensign ; Thomas Kilgour, 
Payne Dixon, Joel Lambert, John McGraw, William Lambert, Wil- 
liam Sandefur, Charles M. Brown, William Arnett, John Mayho, 
Strother Berry, John Vickers, William Tupin, Dan. Powell, Philip Mc 
Namar, Thomas Skillet, Eneas Hardin Obediah Keach , John Fu- 
quay, Jesse Stephens, Samuel Butler, Daniel Bromley, John Slayden, 
Stephen Rouse, Captain Holmes, Handley Harmon, Captain J. B. 
Anthony, and many others. 

In this boat they proceeded as far as Smithland, at the mouth of 
Cumberland River, where they were transferred to an ordinary horse- 
boat. This was a miserable, rickety affair, and absolutely filthy, so 
much so, many of the mfen were taken sick, and seven of them died be- 
fore reaching Natchez. This sickness and death was attributed to the un- 
healthy condition of the horse-boat, ^nd upon arriving at Natchez, 
another boat was provided, and in this they floated to their landing 
place, at the bank in front of the city, arriving on the evening of the 
fourth of January, 1815. 

Thus we find Captain Smith and his little band of patriots landed 
at the City of New Orleans. They arrived there late in the evening 
of the fourth, every man eager to be assigned a place directly in front 
of a Red Coat, or, if needs be, on the picket line. 

More than one of them had promised friends and relatives, whom 
they had left behind, a red coat, as a memento of the great battle to 



144 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

be fought, and actuated more by this, perhaps, than any other incen 
tive, they were almost uncontrolable. They fumed and fretted, they 
complained, and yet it seemed as though they were destined to be 
left behind. The company had no arms, and for a time it looked as 
though they would never be supplied. This enraged many of them, 
and all the camp guards and strict military regulations were hardly 
sufficient to restrain these determined fellows and keep them within 
bounds. Several of them, disregarding all rules of discipline, secretly 
abandoned camp, and before morning returned with a gun apiece which 
they had purchased or purloined. On January 7, their great anxiety 
was satisfied by the arrival of guns and ammunition, and they, with the 
other Kentucky troops, were assigned a most important place in the 
line of battle. 

THE MORNING OF THE EIGHTH 

Was cloudy and misty, and about daybreak General Packenham pre- 
sented his compliments, by the firing of two rockets in the air, which 
were the signals to move forward. The Kentuckians little dreamed, 
while floating down the Mississippi unarmed, and suffering the priva- 
tions incident to those early times, that they were so soon to stand 
face to face in front of the Duke of Wellington's trained soldiers ; sold- 
iers who had met and defeated the great Napoleon only a short time 
previous ; soldiers who had been taught to know no fear, to respect no 
danger ; but these were the men whom the militia had volunteered to 
drive from Louisiana soil. About eleven hundred Kentucky militia, 
and a Tennessee brigade, formed the center of Jackson's army be- 
hind breast works. 

The Kentuckians were commanded by General Ad ir, who 
formed a reserve corps, and were directed to march to the assailed 
point and strengthen the line there. Lt was well understood that an 
attack would be made on the eighth, and the Kentucky troops were 
marched to the lines before daylight, and halted a few yards from the 
center uotil the grand point of. attack should be disclosed. An em- 
inent historian says in his story of the battle : 

•'It was intended that the lines should have a depth of ten files at the 
point of attack, so that the stream of fire should be incessant Thf front rank 
alone would fire as fast as the nine ranks behind could pass forward their 
loaded muskets, receiviiig those discharged in their places, 

" When the point of attack had been clearly disclosed, the Kentuckians 
were ordered to close up with the Tennesseans, upon whom it was evident the 
storm was about to burst. 

"In three columns the English veterans of six glorious campaigns, cov^ 
ered with renown as with a garment, and hitherto victorious on every field, 



HISTORY OF HEND'ERSON COUNTY, KY. 145 

rushed against an earthen breastwork, defended by men who had hurried from 
the plow and the workshop, to meet the invaders of their country. The fog 
lay thick and heavy upon the ground, but the measured step of the center col- 
umn was heard long before it became visible, and the artillery opened upon 
them, directed by the sound of the mighty host, which bore forward as one 
man to the assault. At the first burst of artillery the fog slowly lifted and dis- 
closed the center column advancing in deepsilence, but with a swift and stead} 
pace. 

•'The field was level as the surface of the calmest lake, and the artillery 
plowed through the column from front to rear without a moment slacking its 
pace or disordering the beautiful precisions of its formation. 

"Its head was pointed against the center of the Kentucky and Tennessee line, 
whose ten ranks of musketry stood ready to fire, and as soon as it came within 
one hundred and fifty yards the musketry opened with destructive efl:ect. Then 
there was a inoment's pause in the fire. The artillery along the whole line 
discharged showers of grape, the roar of musketry was as one deep uninter- 
rupted thunder like the roar of one hundred waterfalls, and the central breast- 
work tor four hundred yards was in a bright and long-continued blaze, which 
dazzled the eye, yet the heroic British column still bore forward into the 
very jaws of death. The head of the column actually reached the American 
ditch, and were there killed or taken. The residue f)aused and seemed be- 
wildered for a moment, and then retired in disorder under the same extermin- 
ating torrent of fire, which had greeted their advance. 

'•Their commander, General Packenham, and Generals Gibbs and Kean, 
next in command, had fallen. A host of inferior oflicers had shared the same 
fate, and their organization for the time was destroyed " 

CAPTAIN PAYNE DIXON, 

Who fought with undaunted courage throughout the entire battle, de- 
clared to the writer that at times his gun, from extreme heat produced 
by rapid firing, became unbearable to the hands. During the greater 
part of the firing, so dense was the smoke, the enemy could not be 
seen, and when the firing ceased and the British were found to be in 
full retreat, several of the Henderson boys mounted the breastworks 
and were about to rush out upon the field to secure a red coat, when 
they were peremptorily ordered back. The Henderson company 
fought on both sides of the Mississippi, having crossed over after the 
repulse of General Packenham to reinforce General Morgan, who 
was engaging the enemy with about 1,000 militia. On that side the 
Americans were repulsed. 

After the battle the troops went into camp, and remained until 
April, when the Kentucky boys started on their journey home over- 
land, on foot. 

10 



146 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

AN OVATION. 

In passing through New Orleans, the ladies and citizens 
cheered them lustily, the ladies showering upon them bouquets of 
beautiful flowers, as an evidence of their high appreciation of the bril- 
liant and self-sacrificing service rendered in behalf of the safety of 
their beautiful Southern home. 

The march from New Orleans to Natchez was a terribly hard 
one, and by some means the commissary department had been 
neglected, and the soldiers were actually suffering from the want of 
something to eat. At Natchez, several of the soldiers traded for and 
purchased horses, which they ro^e home. 

ARRIVAL HOME. 

In the month of May the Henderson soldiers arrived at their 
home, and were received with shouts of joy by their friends and kins- 
men. They had performed a noble duty, and won for themselves the 
gratulations of their countrymen. They had been foremost in the 
battle, and had been chiefly instrumental in defeating, certainly one 
of the grandest armies the sun had ever shown upon. 

FLOOD OF 1815. 

In April of this year the flood in the Ohio River was higher than 
ever known since 1793. 

FIRST COUNTERFEITER. 

At the March term of the Circuit Court James Davis was in- 
dicted for felonously counterfeiting money. He was tried, and sent 
to the State prison for three years. A specimen of his work is on 
file in the Circuit Court Clerk's office, and is certainly the equal of 
any engraving done at this day. With the exception of the paper 
used, the work is very superior. 

At this term of the court Assistant Judge Knox was again in- 
dicted for the exercise of one of his youthful indiscretions, which 
seemed to hang to him in his comparative old age. 

Walter Alves, who had been commissioned to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by the resignation of Dr. Adam Rankin, Associate Judge, 
produced his commission and was qualified at the June term. 

AN ACT CONCERNING CIRCUIT COURTS. 

On the third day of February, 1816, the following act " to further 
regulate Circuit Courts " was approved : 

*^ Be it enacted, etc., That so much of any and every law, as creates the 
office of Assistant Judge, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed, and the Cir- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 147 

cuit Judge of each Circuit Court shall alone possess all the power and author- 
ity for the trial of criminal and civil cases as the Circuit Courts heretofore 
possessed." 

In obedience ta this act, Assistant Judges Hugh Knox and Wal- 
ter Alves stepped aside, and left Judge Broad nax alone in his glory 
for the first time. 

In the early part of this year Benjamin Stevenson, of the Ter- 
ritory of Illinois, sold to Samuel Givens, of Union County, four hun- 
dred and five acres of land for one thousand gallons of whisky, esti- 
mated to be worth nine shillings per gallon. On the sixteenth day 
of January 

THOMAS TOWLES 

Was appointed and commissioned one of the judges of the Illinois 
Territory. Upon a superb piece of parchment and written in a bold, 
legible hand, appears the following : 

" James Madison, President of the United States of America to all who 
shall see these j^^'^sen^s greeting. Know ye. that reposing special trust and 
confidence in the wisdom, uprightness and learning of Thomas Towles, of 
Kentucky, I have nominated, and by and with the advice of the Senate, do 
appoint him one ot the judges in and over the Illinois Territory, and do au- 
thorize and empower him to execute and fulfill the duties of that office according 
to law, and to have, and to hold the said office with all the powers, privileges 
and emoluments to the same of right appertaining, during his good behavior or 
during the existence of the government established by the act of the Congress 
of the United States, passed the third day of February, 1809, entitled an act 
for dividing the Indiana Territory into two separate governments, and the or- 
dinance of Congress passed on the thirteenth day of July, 1787, therein re- 
ferred to, he to reside in the said Territory. In testimony, 

" By the President— JAMES MADISON, 

'•James Monroe, Secretary of State." 

Subsequent to this, Mr. Towles qualified, as will appear from the 
following certificate : 

*' Illinois Territory — 

'* Personally appeared before me, Ninian Edwards, Governor of the Ter- 
ritory aforesaid, Thomas Towles, who took the oath of fidelity to the United 
States, and the oath of office as judge in and over the Territory aforesaid. 
Given under my hand and seal, this seventh day of March, 1816. 

NINIAN EDWARDS. 

"bogus currency." 
While both population and business were increasing, and the 
town and county were otherwise steadily growing, great difficulty was 
experienced in the effort to get a satisfactory medium of exchange. 



148 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

This was the beginning of the period when the old banking system held 
sway. Paper money of all kinds and denominations began to flood 
the country, worthless bank-notes, private bills, and other shin-plas- 
ters, seemed determined to crowd out the specie currency, that had 
been common in use. Disaster came upon many of the business men, 
and a want of confidence limited all kinds of transactions in which 
money played the greater part. During the year, petitions were circu- 
lated over the counties of the State, praying for banking facilities. 
Every county wanted a bank, and Henderson, like the rest, was 
greatly excited over the proposition. As I go along through the years 
1817 and '18, the reader will see what was the effect of this financial 
craze. 

AUDUBON'S MILL. 

On the sixteenth day of March John J. Audubon, who had been a 
resident of Henderson since 1812, and Thomas W. Bakewell, under 
the firm name of Audubon & Bakewell, made application to Daniel 
Comfort, William P. Bowen, Wyatt H. Ingram, Fayette Posey and 
Bennett Marshall, trustees of the Town of Henderson, to lease for the 
term of ninety-five years, a portion of the river front, for the purpose 
of locating and erecting a steam sawmill. The Trustees, after 
mature deliberation, and fully considering the premises, granted to 
the petitioners the margin of Water Street, beginning at a post two 
hundred feet from the upper corner of lot No. 4 on the cross street, 
(Second Street), thence down Water Street two hundred and twenty 
feet to a post, thence at right angles from each of said posts to the 
Ohio River, reserving the free and uninterrupted use of the front for 
navigation and landing of boats, etc., for, and in consideration of the 
sum of twenty dollars to be paid annually. During the year the mill 
was built, and is yet standing to-day, perhaps the strongest frame in 
the city. It is the second or far section of the David Clark factory, 
now standing on the corner of Water and Second cross streets, and is 
the oldest building now standing in Henderson. 

"a GOOD SCHOOL." 

Henderson, during 1817, enjoyed, as she had done for several 
years previous, the privileges of a good school. The Trustees of the 
old Seminary had in their employ one Elisha N. Plumb, of Philadel- 
phia, a man of fine training and considerable experience as a teacher. 
In the Seminary building religious services were held on the Sabbath, 
and all in all the religious and educational interests of the community 
were well provided for. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 149 

The commercial advantages of the town had become more sisnifi- 
cant, and as a general thing all branches of trade then established 
were doing at least a. living business. The crops of the county were 
larger this year, and indeed, had assumed magnificant proportions. 
The inspection warehouses during this year handled over fifteen hun- 
dred hogsheads of tobacco, of this number the Henderson house re- 
ceived three hundred and eighteen hogsheads, and Ingram nnd Posey 
six hundred and eighty-four. 

FIRST STEAMBOAT BUILT AT HENDERSON. 

The first steamboat built in Kentucky, and the fourteenth boat 
built on the Western waters was the *'Pike," built by J. Prentiss at 
Henderson. She was a twenty-five ton boat, and built for the trade 
from Louisville to St. Louis ; afterwards ran in the Red River 
trade, and was lost on a sawyer in March 1818. 

This same year Samuel Bowen and John J. Audubon, built a 
small steamboat, and a short time after her completion, the officer in 
command ran her out of the Ohio, and Audubon thinking all was not 
well, followed on in a skiff, but failed to overtake her until his arrival 
at New Orleans. Here he seized the boat and rather than suffer fur- 
ther annoyance, sold the craft at a sacrifice. 

ITEMS OF 1818. 
The value of real estate in the growing village had considerably 
increased, and the future promised great things. Audubon and Bake- 
well had not only built, and were successfully working a large steam 
grist mill, but in addition had built and were successfully opera- 
ting a large sawmill. The old-fashioned whip-saw, with its long and 
tiresome stroke, had now to succumb to the work of machinery, driven 
by steam. A bank was promised, and before the end of the year was 
in full blast ; brick yards had been established, and a strong disposi- 
tion to build, manifested itself among the inhabitants. The house in 
which Mr. James Graves and family now reside was built by Harris 
& Tobin. All of the interior wood work, and most of the weather- 
boarding, which was made of pine, is still intact, and better to-day 
than that which has been replaced within the last ten years. All of 
the brick work done at that time was laid in the Flemish bond, a more 
expensive, and far more substantial mode than is adopted at this time. 
Brick work done after the Flemish bond system, in after years be- 
came, it is said, as solid as stone and almost impossible to be torn to 
pieces. About midway of the same square, between Main and Elm 
on Clay, or Lower Third Street, Harris & Tobin built and operated, 



150 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

for years, the first tobacco stemmery known in this section of the 
country. This old house stood back from the street line and was only 
torn down when incapacitated by age, and inferiority of design and 
capacity to successfully compete with larger, and more conveniently 
located houses. In this house A. B. Barrett, first commenced the 
tobacco business, and continued there until he was better suited in 
another house, higher up-town. 

A BOOM. 

About this time there was one of those periodical booms, which 
Henderson has so often experienced, and by which up to this time she 
has been so little benefitted. Land and town lots — (to use a common 
expression), went clear out of sight, and wages out of all reason. 
The people seemingly went wild, and fully ten or fifteen houses were 
built durins: the vear. 

This was one of the years, for which the civil history of Kentucky 
is memorable, by the dreadful monetary derangement which lead to 
the passage of the relief laws, and gave rise to the most embittered 
and violent conflict of parties which has ever occurred in Kentucky. 
The financial affairs of the civilized world were in a painful state of 
disorder. The long wars of the French revolution had banished gold 
and silver from circulation as money, and had substituted an inflated 
paper currencv, by which nominal prices were immensely enhanced- 
At the return of peace, a restoration of specie payments, and the re- 
turn of Europe to industrial pursuits, caused a great fall in the nom- 
inal value of commodities, accompanied by bankruptcy upon an enor- 
mous scale. In Kentucky the violence of this crisis was enhanced by 
the charter of forty Independent banks, with an aggregate capital of 
nearly ten millions of dollars, which were by law permitted to redeem 
their notes, with the paper of the bank of Kentucky, instead of specie. 
These banks were chartered at the Session of 1817-18. Every little 
town and village in Kentucky wanted a bank, and Henderson was 
among the foremost. On January 26, 1818, an act to establish inde- 
pendent banks in this Commonwealth was approved. 

FIRST BANK. 

Among the number is the following: " A bank, to be denom- 
inated the Bank of Henderson, in the Town of Hendersqn, with a 
capital of one hunded and fifty thousand dollars, to be divided into 
one thousand five hundred shares of one hundred dollars each, un- 
der the direction of Samuel A. Bowen, James Wilson, James Hillyer, 
Walter Alves, Nicholas C. Horseley, Leonard Lyne and Wyatt H. 
Ingram, or a majority of them, for the sale of stock, and continue 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 151 

open for sixty days, unless the stock is sooner taken up." The sub- 
scribers, their successors and assigns were made a corporation and 
body politic in law, and in fact, b^' the name and style of the President, 
Directors and Company, of the Bank of Henderson, and were au- 
thorized to continue until the last day of December, 1837. 

This bank was given plenary, or full banking powers, and directed, 
as soon as one-fifth of the capital stock was actually received on ac- 
count of the subscriptions, to give notice in two newspapers, printed 
in the State, to notify a time and place in the town, giving at least 
thirty day's notice for proceeding to the choice of a president and 
eight directors. The Board of Directors were invested with all power 
usually given officers of such corporations. The bank notes thrown 
into circulation, were restricted to three times the amount of capital, 
over and above the moneys then actually deposited in the bank, and 
in case of excess, the directors shall be individually liable for the 
same. Under this act, the Bank of Henderson organized, with what 
amount of paid up capital, it has been impossible to ascertain. Cap- 
tain Samuel Anderson was elected the first president, and James Hill- 
yer the first cashier. Monied transactions were pretty heavy in those 
days, as is evidenced by old notes appearing here and there, in old- 
time papers, now worthless. 

The Bank of Henderson commenced business in a two-story log 
house, which stood on the southeast corner of Main and Second 
Streets, and at the same time commenced the building of a brick bank- 
ing house on Main Street. As a great many corporations have foolishly 
done before, the directors of this bank concluded to furnish all mate- 
rials, and pay. for all labor by the day, or by the job, as the case might 
be. Moses Morgan and John Mason were employed to do the wood- 
work, and Francis Hammill, the brick-work. The lumber was pur. 
chased from the " Henderson Steam Mill, " operated by John Audu- 
bon & Co., and the brick manufactured by the company. As a conse- 
quence of this plan, the house cost a third more than it ought to have 
cost, and the building committee engaged in a continued dispute with 
the workmen. Francis Hammill'sbill was disputed, and by agreement, 
submitted to John Lewis and Charles Peck, brick masons, who after 
calmly considering and investigating, gave Hammill more than he 
claimed. Another trouble, was the delay in getting work done. Most 
of the directors had a hand in the building, yet everyone of them 
charged liberally for all he or they did. This building, which is now 
known as the Kerr, Clark & Co. Counting Room, was begun in May, 
1818, and completed the latter part of 1819. The following is the 
estimate made by Lewis and peck, of the number of brick used : 



152 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Amount of brick in the Bank House, Henderson : 

Basement story 32,410 

First story 03,570 

Second story 43,580 

Parapet walls 10,136 

Vault 19,800 

Shaft of chimney 1,575 

171,071 
Deduction for chimney 3,000 

168,071 
" JOHN LEWIS, 
" CHARLES PECK." 

Francis Hammill's bill for brick work, which was allowed by the 
committee of arbitration, was three dollars per thousand for laying 
in the wall, twelve arches at three dollars each, and one arch at five 
dollars. This was the arch over the front door. The following is 
one of Audubon's bills : 

" To the President and Directors of the Bank of Henderson, to Henderson 

Steam Mill. Dr 

To three pieces of scantling. 56 feet, at 4V<c $2 52 

To two pieces of scantling, 34 feet 

To sixty rafters. 714 feet, at 4c 28 56 

To five pieces scantling, 40 feet, at 3c 1 20 

To fifteen joints, 278^ feet, Gc 16 71 

$48 99 
* J. J. AUDUBON & CO." 

The putty — thirty pounds used in glazing, cost forty cents per 
pound, only thirty-six cents per pound more than the same material 
is worth at this time. In the same summer of 1818, when the Bank 
of Henderson commenced business, the State was flooded with paper 
money, and to add to this financial uncertainty, our bank turned loose 
a goods boxfull of her notes. With this, speculation sprung up in all 
directions, large loans were rashly made, and as rashly expended. 
Most of these financial bubbles exploded within one year, and only a 
few were alive at the end of two vears. Following: in the wake of 
the unfortunates, the Bank of Henderson, after two years of unsuc- 
cessful business, turned her toes to the daisies, and effected a settle- 
ment as best she could. In the meantime, the pressure of debt be- 
came terrible, and the power to replevy judgments was extended by 
the Legislature, from three to twelve months, by an act passed at the 
session of 1819-20. 

The following bit of history, as much to be applied to Hender- 
son as any other county, is reproduced simply to give the reader a 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 153 

faint idea of the frightful condition of monetary affairs throughout 
Kentucky, after the forty banks had been incorporated and let out 
their circulating issue. During&the year 1819, this monetary distress 
became more and more alarming, and in the summer of 1820, the cry 
for further relief became overwhelming. Vast majorities of both 
houses of the Legislature were pledged to some measure which should 
relieve the debtor from the consequences of his rashness. The reign 
of political quackery was in its glory. The sufferings of the patient 
were too acute to permit him to listen to the regular physician, who 
prescribed, time^ industry and economy as the only honest and just rem- 
edy. He turned eagerly to the quacks, who promised him instantane- 
ous relief, by infallible nostrums, and specifics tvithout pain, luithout 
self-denial, and without paying the penalty which nature always im- 
poses upon any gross violation of her laws. The great cry of the people 
was, more money, and their heaviest complaint was, debt. Therefore 
the Legislature of 1820-21 chartered the bank called the " Bank of the 
Commonwealth," which was relieved from all danger of suspension, 
by not being required even to redeem its specie. Its paper was made 
payable and receivable for public debts and taxes, and certain lands, 
owned by the State, south of Tennessee River, were pledged for the 
final redemption of its notes. Its business was to pour out paper in 
profusion, in order to make money plenty. The creditor was required 
to receive this bank paper in payment of all his debts, and if he refused 
to do so, the debtor was authorized to replevy the debt for the space 
of two years. By more mad legislation, the paper of the new bank 
sank rapidly to one-half its nominal value, and the creditor had his 
choice of two evils — one was to receive half of his debt in payment 
of the whole, and the other was to receive nothing at all for two 
years, and at the end of that time, do the best he could, running the 
risk ot new delays at the end of that time, and the bankruptcy of his 
securities. The indignation of the creditor at this wholesale confis- 
cation of his property, can be imagined, and as a consequence, society 
rapidly arranged itself into two parties, called Relief and anti-Relief. 
The constitutionality of the Commonwealth Bank act was tested and 
decided against the State. This decision created intense indignation 
among the debtor class, which was at that time in a large majority. An 
appeal was taken to the Court of Appeals, and the question came di- 
rectly before them at the fall term, 1823. Their decision was awaited 
with intense anxiety by all parties. Terrible denunciations of popu- 
lar vengeance in advance, if they dared to thwart the will of a vast 
majority of the people, were intended to warp their judgments or 



154 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

operate upon their fears. The Judges had maintained an unbroken 
silence, but when called upon, delivered their opinion seriatim and at 
length, calmly concurring with their brethren of the Circuit Court, 
that the act was in violation of the Constitution of the United States 
and totally void. The opinion created an immense sensation through- 
out every county of the State, and the conflict of parties was renewed 
with redoubled fury. 

The majority now determined to sweep from their path, and 
make an example to future ages, of the three calm and recluse stu- 
dents, who had dared to set up reason against rage, and the majesty 
of truth and law against the popular will. The great majority had 
been accustomed to make and unmake, to set up and pull down at its 
sovereign will and pleasure. The judiciary, by the Constitution, 
held their offices during good behavior and nothing less than two- 
thirds of both houses could remove them. 

The canvass of 1824 was conducted with the hope of obtaining 
this result. General Joseph Desha, candidate of the relief party, 
was elected by a large majority, a vast majority of both houses were 
of the relief party. At the following meeting of the Legislature the 
three Judges were summoned before the Legislative bar and assigned 
reasons at length for their decision. This was unsatisfactory to the 
crazed majority, and a vote was taken to remove the Judges of the 
Supreme Court, but a constitutional majority of two-thirds could not 
be obtained. They found they could not remove the Judges by im- 
peachment or address, because their majority, although large, was 
not two-thirds of each house, but they could repeal the act, by which 
the Court of Appeals had been organized and could pass an act or- 
ganizing a new court. 

A bill to this effect was drawn up and passed by a large major- 
ity in the House of Representatives, and by a nearly equal majority 
in the Senate. No time was lost in organizing the new court, the old 
court, however, denied the constitutionality of the act, and still con- 
tinued to sit as a Court of Appeals. A large majority of the bar of 
Kentucky recognized them as the true court, and a great majority of 
the Circuit Court Judges obeyed the mandates as implicitly as if no 
reorganizing act had passed. The title of parties now changed from 
relief and anti-relief to old court and new court. 

Great activity was exerted in. the canvass of 1825, and never 
were the passions of the people more violently excited. The result 
was the triumph of the old court party by a large majority in the 
popular branch of the Legislature, while the Senate still remained at- 
tached to the new court. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 155 

In the canvass of 1826 both parties arrayed in final struggle for 
the command of the Senate, and the old court party again tri- 
um )hed. At the ensuing sessfon of the Legislature the obnoxious 
act was repealed, thcopinion of Governor Desha to the contrary, and 
the three old Judges re-established de facto as well as de jure. Their 
salaries were voted them during their forcible and illegal removal 
from office, and all acts of the new court treated as a nullitv. This 
certainly was one of the most signal triumphs of Irw and order, over 
the fleeting passions of people, which has ever been recorded in the 
annals of a free people. 

The fate of the Commonwealth Bank, and its almost unlimited 
amount of worthless paper currency, and the replevin laws connected 
with it, was forever sealed by the triumph of the old court party. The 
replevin laws were repealed, and the bank extinguished by successive 
acts of the Legislature, which directed that its paper should be grad- 
ually burned, instead of reissued. In a few years, its paper disap- 
peared from circulation. New banks were afterwards chartered and 
another vast quantity of paper money put afloat to stimulate the wild- 
est spirit of speculation. Everybody rushed into the market to borrow 
money to carry out some pet thought or wild scheme, but this fabric was 
too baseless, and unreal to endure. In the spring of 1837, all of the 
banks of Kentucky suspended specie payment. In this state of things 
the Legislature of 1837 met and legalized the suspension of the banks. 
By the exercise of superior business tact, the financial condition of 
things was again brought to a satisfactory conclusion, and the coun- 
ties of the State again took on new life. During these troublous 
times Henderson County was fortunate to be represented by Leonard 
H. Lyne, Samuel G. Hopkins and Judge George Morris. Hender- 
son County's history during this time, and since, is so closely inter- 
woven with that of the State that it would be impossible to give a sat- 
isfactory view of the subjects which engrossed the attention of the 
people, without entering into details forbidden by the plan of an out- 
line sketch like this. It is safe to say, however, that political relief 
and anti-relief, old and new court, excitement ran as high in Hender- 
son as in any other county in the State, but from the character of men 
elected to represent the county during the time, we may safely con- 
clude that Henderson stood by the honor of the State, and was en- 
rolled with those, whose inherent attachment to sober and rational 
liberty, guided them in every action, public or private. 

TOWN LOTS SOLD FOR TAXES. 

During this year a number of town lots and lands, sold under the 
act of Congress of March 5 and April 26, 1816, for direct tax, were 
redeemed. The following receipt goes to show how low down the 
Government of the United States did go in those days for tax money: 

" Received, the twentj-ninth dav of November, 18. 8, from Thomas K, 
Moore, the sum oi ihirty-Jive cents, being the amovmt of the purchase money 



156 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

for one lot in Henderson Counlj, in the Fifth District of Kentucky, contain- 
ing one lot in Henderson, on Water Street, sold under the acts of Congress 
March 5 and April 26, 1816, to satisfy the direct tax of 1816, and additions 
thereto, due by Jacob Keel for tax 29 cents. John II. Moore, addition of 20 
per ct 6-35 cts. collector designated by the Secretary of the Treasury in the 
State of Kentucky." ' 

CONSTANTINE S. RAFINISQUE, 

A native of Galota, near Constantinople, Turkey, a naturalist of 
great reputation, spent some time during the early part of this year 
with Mr. Audubon.. He came down the river in an " Ark," which he 
owned and occupied conjointly with another. 

IMPROVEMENTS OF GREEN RIVER. 

During the session of the Legislature, 1818, an act for the im- 
provement of Green River was passed and approved. This act did 
away with the system of working Green River by overseers ap- 
pointed by the County Court, and appropriated ten thousand dollars 
annually of the State dividend of the stock of the Bank of Ken- 
tucky, for the purpose of improving the navigation of the river and 
its navigable branches. 

A GRACEFUL COMPLIMENT. 

At the regular term of the Circuit Court the only order entered 
of record, was written by Judge Broadnax, in his own hand, and was 
quite a compliment to the Circuit Clerk. The following is a copy of 
the order : 

" It appearing to the satisfaction of the court, that Ambrose Barbour, clerk 
of this court, is too much indisposed to attend to the duties of his office during 
the present term, it is ordered that court adjourn until the next term. 

"HENRY P. BROADNAX." 

The first murder, of which the Circuit Court had judicial notice, 
and the second one since the formation of the county, was committed 
in 1818. This was the celebrated case of Stephen Grimes and Charles 
E. Carr, for killing Lemuel Cheaney, near Colonel Elias D. Powell's 
meadow farm, a brief sketch of which will be found under the head 
of " Sketchs and Recollections." 

1819. 

At the March term of the Circuit Court, John Boyle was the 
first British subject to renounce allegiance to the Queen. 

Charles E. Carr was tried at this term for the murder of Lemuel 
Cheaney, found guilty, and sentenced to be hung ; was subsequently 
hung, to-wit : on the twenty-sixth day of July. 

Jean Spidel, for himself, wife and children, late subjects of the 
Duke of Wertemburg, Germany, asked to become a citizen of the 
United States. The family consisted of Jean Spidel, thirty-three 
years of age ; Charlbtte Elizabeth Spidel, thirty-five years ; John, 
eleven vears, and Christian, three vears of ajje. 

The first suit for slander, brought in the county, was that of Dan- 
iel Toole vs. Gabriel Homes, brought at this term of the court. Toole 
proved his case, and was given a verdict for four hundred and twen- 
ty-five dollars. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



COUNTY DIVIDED INTO PRECINCTS — BANKS AND BANKING — CONGRESS- 
IONAL DISTRICTS — ITEMS OF INTERISTS 1820. 

/^HE census of 1810 gave Henderson County 4,703 population. 
^^ The census of 1820 gave a population of 5,714, an increase in 
ten years of 1,011 souls. The population of the Village of Hender- 
son, in 1810, according to the census, was 159. The population for 
1828, is not given. Assuming the increase of the village population 
to have equaled that of the county, as a whole, we may conclude as 
that of the county was over twenty per cent., the village may safely 
be estimated at twenty per cent., which would then make the popula- 
tion in 1820, the year of which we are now writing, 1,191, all told. A 
sort of boom struck the county this year, and immigration came in 
fast, both to the county and village. Immigration had been alarm- 
ingly slow prior to that time, and as an evidence of it, the liberal 
terms offered by General Samuel Hopkins, agent of Richard Hen- 
derson & Co., in the disposition of their town and out lots, had been 
embraced by but very few persons. The lot on the corner of Water 
and Upper Fifth Street, now the property of Hugh Kerr, was not dis- 
posed of until 1819, and then it was donated to Wyatt Ingram. 

" COUNTY DIVIDED INTO PRECINCTS." 

Agreeably to an act of the Legislature to divide the county into 
certain precincts, and to allot a constable to each district, the county 
proceeded to lay off the county as follows : 

First Precinct, to include the Town of Henderson and all that 
part of the county lying above the Smith's Ferry Road. Second Pre- 



158 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

cinct, between the Smith's Ferry Road and the road to Christian 
County Court House, and the Third Precinct, below the Christian 
Road, and between that and the Ohio River. There had been but 
t one voting place prior to that time, and that was at the Court House. 
This division of three precincts, created three voting places - one 
at the Court House, one at Zachariah Galloway's, near what is now 
known as Hebardsville, and one at Cannon's, ^in what is now known 
as Walnut Bend. Owing to the old system of three days' election, 
ample time was given each voter to attend and cast his vote. 

There were two new towns — mushroom like — sprung up in the 
county, this year. One was called Bellville, and the other Felixville. 

Arrangements for grinding grain became more satisfactory, for ' 
the reason a great number of grist mills were established. Most of 
these mills were built along creeks, to be run by water, during the 
rainy or wet weather seasons, and in addition had what was known as the 
sweep attachment, to be operated by horses or oxen, but subsequently 
the tread was substituted for the sweep. 

During this year an established rate of fare between the Falls of 
the Ohio and New Orleans, was agreed upon, in which a passenger 
from New Orleans to the '• Red Banks," or Henderson, was taxed one 
hundred and ten dollars, and going down stream, from the Falls of 
the Ohio to Henderson, the sum of ten dollars. While this would be 
considered an exhorbitant charge at this time, at that time it was con- 
sidered so much cheaper than walking, no man who could spare the 
price of passage, would have been safe to complain. 

It is calculated that this year there were sixty-eight steamboats on 
the rivers, with an aggregate tonnage of twelve thousand seven hun- 
dred and seventy; yet, for a long period, until economy of time be- 
came more important in human life, travel and freight stood mostly 
by the old keel and flatboats. 

The Court of Claims for Henderson County, in estimating the 
necessary expenditures of the county for this year, laid the levy at 
one dollar and twenty-five cents per tithable. The Commissioners of 
Tax reported, for 1820, fifteen hundred and forty-six tithables, and 
this number, at one dollar and twenty five cents, gave the county one 
thousand nine hundred and thirty-two dollars and fifty cents, from 
which amount, delinquents had to be deducted. 

1821. 

From some cause, unknown to the records, the Court of Claims 
this year reduced the annual levy. The Commissionors of tax reported 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 159 

sixteen hundred and sixly-four tithables, and the court laid the levy 
at one dollar each, making a total of $1,664 subject to delinquencies. 

The winter of eighteen hundred and twenty-one and two, is said 
to have brought the mercury to the intense degree of twenty degrees 
below zero. 

December 21, an act was approved directing a change in the time 
of holding the courts of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit,composedJof the 
counties of Muhlenberg, Henderson^ Hopkins, Union, Daviess, Breck- 
enridge, and Ohio. Under this act the courts of Henderson were 
held, commencing on the fourth Monday in March, June, and Septem- 
ber, and continued six juridical days. 

An act passed prior to this, but during the same month, directed 
that a Circuit Judge and Commonwealth's attorney be appointed for 
the Fourteenth District, who should reside in the district. Soon after 
the passage of this act. Judge Alney McLean of Muhlenberg, was 
appointed, and served for years with great ability and satisfaction. 
In the latter part of this year or the early part of 1822, John J. Audu- 
bon removed from Henderson. 

1822 

Commissioners reported, fifteen hundred and sixty-eight tith- 
ables, and the levy was laid at one dollar and a quarter per head. It 
will be observed that the tithable population fluctuated greatly, and 
that the solid growth of the county was lamentable about this time. 

The tithable population in 1821, showed sixteen hundred and 
sixty-four, ninety-six more than the present year, and this number 
was not agam reached before 1828. 

SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Agreeably to an act of the General Assembly, the County Court, 
by Commissioners, divided the county into twelve school districts. 
This, with the exception of the splendid achievement of the Trustees 
of the Henderson Academy, was the first public recognition of the 
necessity of a general diffusion of knowledge throughout the county ; 
yet nothing was done for many years subsequent to that time. 

It was enacted December 11, " That whenever there shall be 
five Mondays in the months of March, June and September, or either 
of them, the term of the Henderson Circuit Court, appointed by law 
to be held in those months, shall be extended to two weeks, if the busi- 
ness thereof shall be required." 

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS. 

By an act, approved May 23, the State was divided into twelve 
Congressional Districts, and Henderson then became a part of the 



160 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Eleventh District, composed of Henderson, Muhlenburg, Butler, 
Ohio, Grayson, Breckenridge, Daviess, Hart and Hardin. 

Under an act passed January 1, the County Courts of Henderson 
County were directed to be held on the fourth Monday in every month, 
in which no Circuit Court was held. 

An act, passed December, " Be it further enacted^ That the County 
of Henderson shall be entitled to sixteen Justices of the Peace, and 
no more, two of whom shall reside in the town, and one north of 
Green River." 

AGGRAVATED FEVER. 

In the summer of this year, an aggravated bilious fever, visited 
most, if not all of the river towns of Kentucky, and while it was not so 
distressing at this point as at others, it was yet frightful. So terrible 
was this disease in form and character, it gained and deserved the 
name of yellow fever. The mortality was very great, and the alarm 
existing on account of it, throughout the whole interior of the neigh- 
boring States, was of the most exciting character. It has been said 
by graphic writers, that during the months of July, August, and Sep- 
tember, so strongly were the inhabitants of this and other towns pre" 
disposed to this disease, by joint influence of climate, and the miasm 
of marshes, ponds, and decayed and decaying vegetable matter, that 
they may be compared to piles of combustibles, which needed bu^ 
the application of a single spark to rouse them to a flame. 

This frightful malady, was the most terrible blow ever given the 
place, and for many years afterwards, the name of Henderson was 
synonemous with that of "Grave Yard." Emigrants dreaded to pass 
through the place, and of those who had determined to locate herej 
many were dissuaded from their purpose, by the assertion that it was 
rushing upon death to make the attempt. This occurred, too, just at 
a period when the resources of the town, beginning to develope them- 
selves, were attracting the attention of capitalists. Had the feeling 
of alarm ceased with the disease, it would have been less of a blow> 
but for years after, it was referred to as a warning against emmigra' 
tion hither. 

This year, the County Court had new bridges built over Canoe 
Creek, at the Madisonville and Morganfield crossings. 

1823. 

Several new bridges were built this year, and the county levy was 
reduced from one dollar and twenty-five cents, to sixty-two and a half 



^ HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 161 

cents. Outside of this, nothing of a public nature worthy of notice 
appears on the records. 

J 824. 

The Commissioners returned forty-eight more tithables this year 
than Last. This was the year of the Walton murder. This murder 
of Walton was one of the most heartless, cold-bloo*ded and incarnate 
specimens of human depravity to be found in the records of any 
county. It has never really been surpassed in savage lands. 

1825. 

The militia was now in its glory, and all able-bodied men were 
required to turn out to company, batallion and regimental muster. 
It was a great bore to all but a few ambitious officers and privates. 
Thomas K. Newman, and John Newman, as field officers of the forty- 
first regiment, settled with the paymaster January 31, and then a great 
jollification was had. 

An act, approved January 3, changed again the time of holding 
the Circuit Courts. Under this act, the courts were held on the third 
Monday in March, June, and September, and were directed to sit 
twelve juridical days, and where there were five Mondays in the 
month, to sit eighteen days, if the business of the court required it. 

1826. 

The Commissioners of tax reported this year sixteen hundred 
^^nd twenty-fou: tithables, and the court levied eighty seven and one 
half cents, making a total of fourteen hundred and twenty-one dollars. 
It was reported to the court, that the jail was uncomfortably cold, and 
out of the abundance of fellow-feeling, James Rouse jailer, was 
directed to furnish criminals coal, during the day time, and blankets 
at night. 

COAL MINING 

It may be asked where coal was brought from so early as 1826 ; 
there were no mines at that time. In the early times there 
were many places on the Ohio River where coal cropped out 
of the surface of the bank, or decline, between the bluff bank and the 
water'.« ?.dge. Notably among those locations was the mouth of Sugar 
Creek, above the water-works. At this point coal was taken out with- 
out mining or blasting, dumped into boats, and floated down to the 
town. This mine furnished the town of Henderson up to 1850 with 
most of the coal used. Dr. Thomas J. Johnson, even between 1850 
and 1860, dug coal at Sugar Creek and boated it down to the town, 

reserving a year's supply to himself, and selling the remainder at a 
11 



162 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

price about equal to the expense of getting out the whole amount. 
There were wealthy men in those days as there is now — for instance, 
Leonard H. Lyne, assessed this year sixty-eight slaves, four hundred 
and fifty-one acres of farming land, and twenty-eight horses. 

Congress had passed a law appropriating a certain amount to be 
paid to surviving soldiers of the Revolutionary War. The County 
Court of Henderson County received a number of declarations of 
pensions, and ordered them to be certified to the Secretary of War. 
The following are of record : Wynn Dixon (father of Governor 
Archibald Dixon), John Martin, William Brown, Thomas Baker, Joel 
Gibson, William Frazier, Furna Cannon, Peter L. Matthews, John 
Ramsey, Isham Sellars, General Thomas Posey, Dr. Joseph Savage, 
Gabriel Green, and Nathaniel Powell. Fourteen of the old patriots, 
who fought that America might be free, lived their latter days in 
this county, and were buried beneath its sod. The gallows, upon 
which was hung the lifeless body of Calvin Sugg, cost the county the 
great sum of ten dollars. It was built by James Rouse, and the 
court, thinking perhaps that it might be needed again, passed in sub- 
stance the following order. ''James Rouse being regarded as a 
fit person, it is ordered that he be appointed to take care of the 
gallows." 

The County Court deemed it necessary to revise the tavern rates 
heretofore established, and the following is a copy : 

TAVERN BATES. 

Dinner, supper and breakfast, each 25 cts 

Lodging 12% cts 

Horse per night 50 cts 

Horse per feed 12>^ cts 

Foreign spirits, y^ pint 6Ji cts 

All to be paid in specie. 

Foreign liquor was just eight times the price of domestic. 

1827. 

The Commissioners of Tax reported for this year fifteen hundred 
and sixty-four tithables — sixty less than last year — and laid the levy 
at 75 cents — 12^ cents less than last year. The effect of the panic 
and hard times had not worn away. Many men had fled the State, 
taking with them their slaves to avoid the levy of executions for debt. 
It is a fact that many slave-holders left the State with their slave 
property for this very purpose, and afterwards, by permission of the 
County Court, returned again. This, perhaps, may explain the dis- 
crepancy so noticeable during the years of hard times, as they were 
known. Political excitement in Kentucky ran high during this year. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 163 

Under the law, passed February 23, 1808, free negroes and mulattos 
were prevented from migrating to Kentucky, unless allowed to do so 
by a special act. During this y^-ar a number of free negroes came to 
the State, and by special act were freed and exempted from the pains 
and penalties of the law of 1808. Frank Hogg, one among the first, 
if not the first, was granted the right to remain in the Commonwealth, 
and authorized to hold real estate. From this beginning quite a col- 
ony of free negroes migrated to the county, and so far as is known, 
were orderly, well behaved and industrious people. 

1828. 
The Commissioners of Tax reported this year seventeen hundred 
and thirty tithables, and the levy was fixed at one dollar twelve and 
a half cents, making a total of nineteen hundred and forty-six dollars 
and twenty four ( ents. It will be observed that the number of tith- 
ables reported this year is one hundred and sixty-six greater than 
last year, and the tax increased thirty-seven and a half cents. 

1829. 
The tithable population reported this year was seventeen hundred 
— thirty less than last year - and the levy fixed at 68^ cents —forty- 
four cents less than last year. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



MILK SICKNESS — SCHOOL DISTRICTS — THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC — MIAS- 
MATIC PONDS METEORIC SHOW^ERS, ETC., ETC. — 1830. 

>^HE census for 1830 gave Henderson County a population of six 
^y thousand six hundred and fifty-nine souls, an increase of nine 
hundred and forty-five during the preceding ten years. Seventeen 
hundred and eighty-seven tithables were reported this year, and the 
levy fixed at what it was in 1828, one dollar twelve and a half cents. 

MILK SICKNESS. 

For some years prior to 1830, the milk sickness had made its ap- 
pearance in Kentucky, but, during this year, it was unusually annoy- 
ing and frightful in Henderson County. Particularly along the banks 
of Green River, it did its work undiscovered. Scientists endeavored 
to discover the true cause of the disease, but all their efforts failed. 
January 29, the Legislature of Kentucky offered a reward of six hun- 
dred dollars for the discovery of the cause, and a specific cure, yet 
no discovery was ever made. It was only with the clearing up of the 
woods and timbered lands, that the dread disease disappeared. There 
has been no cases of milk sickness reported in Henderson County for 
many years. 

On the twenty-ninth day of January, an act was approved, incor- 
porating a company under the name and style of the '* Green River 
Navigation Company," for the purpose of constructing locks, dams, 
docks, basins, canals, chutes and slopes upon Green River and its 
tributary streams. The capital stock of the company was fixed at 



166 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

sixty thousand dollars, divided into shares of twenty-five dollars each. 
Books for the subscription of stock were directed to be opened on the 
fourth day of March, and Leonard H. Lyne and James McLain ap- 
pointed commissioners for Henderson County. The scheme proved 
an utter failure. 

Under and by authority of an act of the Legislature, approved 
January 29, Henderson County was divided and laid off into public 
school districts. 

183L 

The Commissioners of Tax reported this year, nineteen hundred 
and sixty-nine tithables, and the county levy was fixed at sixty-two 
and a half cents, making a total of one thousand two hundred and 
thirty dollars and sixty-two and a half cents. From this, it will be 
seen that the tithable increase from the Court of Claims in October, 
1830, to the Court of Claims, 1831, was one hundred and eighty-two, 
the greatest increase for any one year known up to that time. 

The population in what is now known as the Point, or Scuffle- 
town District, had so increased, that on the twenty-first day of Decem- 
ber, an act of the Legislature was approve'd, establishing it as an 
election precinct, and fixing the voting place at the house of Doak 
Prewitt. 

1832. 

Nineteen hundred and sixty-nine tithables were reported this 
year, and the levy fixed at seventy-five cents. The county had now 
begun to grow rapidly, and everything assumed a more cheerful as- 
pect, but during the year the cholera brought grief and gloom, and 
business stagnation in Henderson, as well as many other points in the 
Ohio River Valley. 

This epidemic visitation occurred in the month of October, and 
absolutely paralyzed the whole comniunity. Business was suspended, 
and the panic complete. Men were seized with the disease while 
walking in the streets, and were dead in ten hours. The population 
of Henderson at that time was about seven hundred, and fully ten 
per cent, of that number died. The physicians stood manfully at 
their posts, and administered calomel and opium without limit. The 
practitioners at that time were Drs. Levi Jones, Thomas J. Johnson, 
Owen Glass, Henry M. Grant and Horace Gaither. Among those 
who died, were : Rev. Nathan Osgood, Rector St. Pauls Episcopal 
Church, and J. B. Pollitt, husband of the first wife of Governor Dixon. 
Mr, Bqtler, father of Harbison Butler, came into the town one day, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 1 167 

transacted his business and returned to his home in the country, and 
before twelve o'clock that night, died of cholera. The negroes suf 
ferred more, perhaps, than the v^hites. 

Henderson, at that time, was a victim of " ponds," those frightful 
generators of misasma, being located all over the place. At the 
corner of First and Elm Streets, was one covering as much as one 
acre of ground. In the center of the intersection of Main and 
Second Streets, was the public well, and this furnished impure water 
for the greater part of the citizens. Those who drank water from the 
river bank, escaped the cholera, while those who drank of the well, 
were to a great extent victims of the disease. 

This was also the year of the great flood, when the river rose at 
Cincinnati to the almost incredible height of sixty-two and a half feet 
above low water mark. 

THE FLOOD. 

The youthful city did not feel the visitation of the flood, but the 
river bottoms suffered immensely. This great rise commenced on the 
tenth day of February, and continued until the twenty-first of that 
month, having risen to the extraordinary height fifty-one feet above 
low water mark at Louisville. Nearly all of the frame and log build- 
ings near the river, either floated off or turned over and were de- 
stroyed. The marks made by the Government engineers, for that 
purpose, at the head of the Canal and foot of the Falls, at Louisville, 
showed a maximum height at the head, of forty-six feet above low 
water, and sixty-nine feet above low water at the foot of the Falls. 
This was by far the greatest rise ever known in the Ohio at that time. 

A RALROAD CURIOSITY. 

As an evidence of the progress of the age, it may be noted that 
during this year upon a circular track, in George Atkinson's Factory, 
formerly Audubon's Mill, was exhibited a small locomotive made sev- 
eral years before at Lexington, by Mr. Thomas H. Barlow. To this 
locomotive was attached a small car, in which many people took their 
first railroad ride. This miniature engine ran smoothly, and was a great 
curiositv. A small amount was charged for riding, which the i)eop1e 
paid most cheerfully. This was the first railroad or railroad engine 
and car ever seen by but very few, if any, of the citizens of Henderson. 

1833. 

Twenty-one hundred and fifty-two tithables were reported this 
year, one hundred and eighty-three more than last year, and the levy 
fixed at 81 ^ cents. The cholera returned to Kentucky this year, 



168 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and raged from about May 30 to August, only two months, but with 
great virulence and deadly effect. Beginning as high up as Maysville, 
it soon spread through the State, slaying large numbers in town and 
country. Within nine days after its appearance at Lexington, fifteen 
hundred persons were prostrated by it, and fifty deaths occurred in 
some single days. Many places, altogether spared in 1832, were des- 
olated this year. In Henderson there were but few cases This was 
the year also of 

" METEORIC SHOWERS " 

It was about two o'clock in the morning when the stars began to 
shoot, and before daylight such an incessant cross-firing of heavenly 
bodies had not only never been seen, but had never beea heard of. The 
heavens presented a most gorgeous picture, and yet many of the 
superstitious believed it to be the beginning of the end, and that soon 
the trump of Gabriel's horn would announce the coming of " The New 
Jerusalem." Everybody was up to see it, and closely they scanned 
the"firmament until the grand display was shut out by the light of day. 

January 25 an act was approved establishing a precinct in that 
part of the county known as the " Big Bend " of the Ohio (now known 
as Walnut Bend), to be called and known as *' Big Bend " Precinct, and 
the elections to be held at the residence of William B. Cannon. 

On the second of February the State was divided into thirteen 
Congressional districts, elections to be held on the first Monday in 
August. Henderson County, with Christian, Hopkins, Muhlenberg, 
Butler, Ohio, Daviess and Hancock, formed the Second District. A 
levy of $500 was made for the purpose of building a poor house, but 
the project was abandoned, and, in 1836, this amount was placed to the 
order of the Board of Internal Improvements, to be applied with the 
additional sum of $1,000, appropriated by the Legislature at their ses- 
sion of 1835-36, for the improvement of the roads of the county. 

1834. 

Two thousand one hundred and fifteen tithables were reported 
this year, and the levy fixed at seventy-five cents. By an act of the 
Legislature the county was divided into five precincts, one at Hender- 
son, one at Galloways, now Hebardsville, one at Sellers, now Cairo, 
and Robard's Station, one at Prewitts, now Scufileton in the point, and 
one at Wm. B. Cannon's, now Walnut Bottom. 

1835. 

Two thousand two hundred and sixty-eight tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the levy fixed at fifty cents. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 169 

Owing to its terrible surroundings, Henderson was yet as un- 
healthy as a place well could be, and as an evidence of it, the follow- 
ing incident related to the write^by Dr. H. H. Farmer, is here inserted : 

" When a boy i" 1835. I was going to Virginia in company with my uncle 
and grandmother. We were traveling in a carriage, and when near Crab 
Orchard Springs I was taken suddenlv ill; my uncle wished to stop at some 
house on the road, but the people learning we were from Henderson, refused 
to take us m, fearing some dreadful contageous disease. The very name of 
Henderson seemed to inspire the mountaineers with terror. My disease was 
slight, however, aud we suffered no serions inconvenience." 

Henderson in early times suffered more from malarial disease 
than for many years past. The disease at that time was more severe, 
but the great cause of its fatality was ignorance on the part of the 
physicians of its proper treatment. 

1836. 

Two thousand two hundred and sixty-five tithables were reported 
this year, and the levy fixed at fifty cents. On the twenty-ninth day 
of February the State was apportioned into thirty-eight Senatorial 
Districts, Henderson, with Hopkins and Daviess forming the Fifth 
District. December 23 the election district formerly known as Sel- 
lars, was changed to William Buttons. 

1837. 

Two thousand two hundred and eighty-nine tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the levy fixed at seventy-five cents. February 
8 an act was approved incorporating the Henderson & Nashville 
Railroad. The capital stock fixed at fifteen thousand shares, and 
Wyatt H. Ingram, George Atkinson, James Rouse, John D. Ander- 
son, George Gayle, and James Alves were appointed Commissioners 
to open books for the subscription of stock. 

February 27 the town of Steamport, on Green River, was in- 
corporated upon the plan formed and laid down by Isaac Harman. 
The Trustees appointed in the act were Isaac Harman, Owen Thomas, 
John McElroy, James M. Edwards, and James Thomas. 

A DIRT TURNPIKE. 

. On February 23 an act was approved creating a company for 
the purpose of building a ''dirt turnpike on the Virginia plan,'' from 
Henderson to Hopkinsville. Wyatt H. Ingram, George Atkinson, 
Smith Agnew, and John McMullin were appointed Commissioners 
for the purpose of carrying out the object of the act. The Commis- 
sioners were authorized to locate toll-gates, but no two gates were to 



IVO HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

be nearer together than ten miles. At the next meeting of the Legis- 
lature the time for opening stock books was extended twelve months, 
and finally the plan was abandoned entirely. 

BANK FAILURES. 

On the nineteenth day of April a financial cricis came. The banks 
all over the State suspended specie payment, and closed their doors. 
The full force of this blow was sadly felt, confidence fled, and every- 
thing before so radiant with the springtime of hope and promise, was 
changed to the sad autumn lines of a fruitless year. Petitions were 
sent to the Governor to convene the Legislature in extra session, but 
this he declined to do ; but, when that body met in regular session, it 
legalized the suspension of the banks in the State, and refused either 
to compel them to resume specie payment, or to forfeit their charters. 
The people of Henderson County suffered, as did the people all over 
the State. Times were extremely pinching, and not for twelve months 
was any relief experienced, and that when the banks ventured to re- 
sume specie payments. 

AN ISLAND. 

It was in the low water of 1837 that the tow-head above the city 
first made any pretentions to being an island. Prior to that time there 
had been no island there, and since that time it has become the respect- 
able body of land it now is. 

This year, William Wurnell, the notorious murderer of Abner 
Jones, was captured and confined in the county jail. 

1838. 

Two thousand three hundred and seventy-seven tithables were 
reported this year, and the levy fixed at one dollar and twenty five 
cents. A glance at this will show, that, in spite of the commercial dif- 
ficulties of the previous year, the population increased. During this 
year the county was re-districted, additional school districts being estab- 
lished. 

1839. 

Two thousand four hundred and ninety tithables were reported 
this year, and the levy fixed at one dollar twelve and a half cents. 

The first iron steamer on a western river or lake, the "Valley 
Forge," passed Henderson in the month of December. 

October 16, all of the Kentucky banks again suspended specie 
payment. 

This was a great year for old, young and middle-aged people, for 
the greatest of sights, a circus with an elephant, a trick-mule, and a 
pony, came to town during the summer. Stickney's Great Circus, 
with Lou. Lippman and Frank Wilmot, and Ricards, the clown, ex- 
hibited in the Public Square, and every man, woman and child, who 
could squeeze inside the tent, was there to witness the show. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



SLAVES EMANCIPATED THE HARRISON CAMPAIGN ABINADAB'S LET- 
TERS — CHARLES DICKENS — RUNAWAY SLAVES — RIVER 
CLOSED, ETC., ETC. — 1840. 

SHE official returns for 1840, place the population of Henderson 
County at nine thousand five hundred and forty-eight, an in- 
crease, since the census of 1830, of two thousand eight hundred and 
eighty-nine souls. Of this number, six thousand one hundred and 
eighty-one were whites, three thousand three hundred and nineteen 
were slaves, and forty-eight were free blacks. 

Two thousand five hundred and ninety-five tithables were reported, 
and the levy fixed at one dollar and fifty cents. 

During the year 1825, Elizabeth D. Gwatkin, grandmother of 
Adam and Gwatkin Rankin, died. By her will, thirty-eight negroes 
became the property of Horatio D. Gwatkin, for the term of fifteen 
years, and at the expiration of that time, they were to be given their 
freedom according to law. At the June term of the County Court 
this year, the thirty-eight slaves were brought into court, their names 
entered of record, and they given their freedom. A poor old man, 
who had fought throughout the War for American Independence, be- 
came a pauper upon the county. John Ramsay and wife were allowed 
the round sum of fifty dollars for his annual support. 

In January the voting place, then known as William Sellar's, was 
changed to Wesley Norman's. 

February 17, a town called " LaFayette," was incorporated and 



172 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

established upon the plan of Geo. W. King, proprietor. The trustees 
of this town were Geo. W. King, Payne Dixon, William P. Grayson, 
William Y. Nelson and Harbison Butler. The site of " LaFayette " 
was on the Ohio River above Evansville. This was the year of the 

" HARRISON CAMPAIGN," 

Forever memorable in the history of American politics. The hero of 
" Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," received a handsome majority in Hen- 
derson County, for President of the United States. During the sum- 
mer an immense barbecue was given in a grove which was located on 
the river above Powell Street, and in front of the gas works. This 
was a beautiful grove, and was a great trysting place for lovers and 
those sentimentally inclined. " Lovers' Grove," as it was called, suc- 
cumbed to the lashing waves of the Ohio many years ago. There is 
not a vestige of it to be seen at this day. The Harrison barbecue 
was largely attended, and many eminent speakers addressed the mul- 
titude that day. The ladies were largely interested, and wore white 
aprons with log cabins painted' and printed upon them. The long 
tables were decorated with imitation log cabins built of stick candy. 
This was a gala day in Henderson. 

1841. 

Two thousand six hundred and thirty-one tithables were reported 
this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar and fifty cents. 

It will be remembered, that in 1837, an act was passed by the 
Legislature, incorporating the " Henderson & Hopkinsville Dirt Turn- 
pike Company, on the Virginia plan," and appointing commissioners 
to open stock books. What the Commissioners did is not known, but 
it is safe to say nothing was done, for, on the twenty-sixth day of Jan- 
uary, of this year, Lazarus W. Powell and William Sugg, of Hender- 
son, and John Ruby and William Bradley, of Hopkins, were ap" 
pointed commissioners to view and mark out a road to Hopkinsville, 
to be built as other roads were at that time. This the Commissioners 
did, and from that time to this, there has been an established road 
between the two places. 

" ABINADAB'S LETTERS." • 

In the spring of this year, William R. Abbott, who had displayed 
considerable newspaper talent, asked, and was granted the right to 
build a frame printing office on the Public Square in front of, and to 
the right of the Court House, and immediately across First Street 
from James McLaughlin's grocery. In this building Mr. Abbott pub- 
lished the " Columbian," a file of which would this day command a 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 173 

handsome sum of money. It was during the days of the " Columbian " 
that the inimitable '' Abinadab " letters made their appearance. They 
were written in biblical style, and for caustic wit, have never been sur- 
passed. Each issue of the paper was as anxiously anticipated as 
though it was known to contain the only reliable information from the 
seat of some great battle, in which each inhabitant was personally and 
deeply interested. " Abinadab " was never known, yet he knew every 
man in the town, and would select six or more each week, to whom he 
would address himself in most graceful, but cutting English, to the 
intense delight of every inhabitant. His pen-pictures of men were 
so perfect, a mistake in placing the victim was impossible. " Abina- 
dab " was the delight, as well as the terror of the town. 

A few years afterwards, Mr. Abbott departed this life, and in dis- 
posing of his effects. Rev. John McCullagh became the purchaser of 
the printing office, and had it, removed to his lot, where now stands 
Miss McCullagh's Female Academy. The building was then used as 
a school house up to about the year 1850, when Mr. McCullagh gave 
up teaching. This old literary and educational establishment was 
permitted to remain until a few years ago, when it was torn down. 

1842. 
Two thousand seven hundred and fifty tithables were reported 
this year, and one dollar thirty-seven and a half cents fixed as the levy. 
A toting place was established at Steamport. Joshua Mullin and his 
wife 

"OLD MRS. MULLIN," 

of "ginger cake " notoriety, had come to Henderson and opened a 
small confectionary and eating house on Mill Street (now Second), 
in a little frame building, which sat above the street near where M. 
Laucheim's Grocery now stands. They had taken out what is called 
a tavern license, or more correctly speaking, a liquor license. During 
the early part of the year, Mr. Mullin applied to the County Court, 
then in session, for a renewal of his license, but was refused, as the 
following amusing order entered of record will show. 

" This day Jo&hua Mullin came in and moved the court to renew his 
tavern license, there being ten Justices on the bench, a majority of all those in 
Commission, and mature deliberation being thereupon had, the vote was taken 
upon said motion, and the result was as follows: Yeas 2, Nays 8, and there- 
upon the said Mullen silently withdrew from the presence of the court, and 
with a countenance bitter with anguish and deep indignation, he rushed from 
the Hall of Justice." 



174 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

CHARLES DICKENS. 

In the early part of this year, Charles Dickens, the renowned 
novelist, then best known as " Boz," and quite a young man, was a 
passenger on the steamboat *' Fulton," en route from Louisville to St. 
Louis. The steamer was detained here, takmg freight, and during a 
great part of the time Mr. Dickens amused himself walking around 
the town, and viewing the sights, of which there were none more im- 
portant than the town pump, which stood in the intersection of Main 
and Second Streets. 

1843. 

Three thousand and forty-six tithables were reported this year, 
and the county levy fixed at one dollar and twenty-five cents ; of this 
number fourteen hundred and seventy-three were whites, and fifteen 
hundred and seventy-three were blacks. The locks and dam on Green 
River, at Spottsville, were completed this year, and a toll-gate es- 
tablished. 

May 9, an act of the Legislature was approved, re-apportioning 
the State into Congressional districts. Henderson, with Christian, 
Muhlenburg, Daviess, Ohio, Butler, Hancock, Breckenridge, Grayson, 
Edmondson, and Mead, became the Tenth District. Several shocks 
of earthquake were felt this year. 

1844. 

Three thousand and seventy-three tithables were reported this 
year, and the county levy fixed at seventy-five cents. Of this number 
fourteen hundred and forty-nine were whites, and sixteen hundred and 
twenty-four were blacks. Tobacco inspection warehouses were still 
in vogue, but doing a comparatively small business to what was done 
many years prior to that time. 

1845. 

Three thousand one hundred and ninety-seven tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the county levy fixed at fifty-five cents. Of 
this number fifteen hundred and eighteen were whites, and sixteen 
hundred and seventy-nine were blacks. On the tenth day of Febru- 
ary the voting place was changed from Zachariah Galloway's to the 
house of Geo. M. Priest, in the village of Hebardsville. 

RUNAWAY SLAVES. 

In 1843 began, and in 1844-45 was steadily developing the sys- 
tematic enticing away, or stealing of slaves from Kentucky, and run- 
ning them off to Canada by a cordon of posts, or relays, which came 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 175 

to be known as the underground railroad. Few were stolen at first, 
and occasionally cases of recapture on Ohio soil, and restoration to 
owners occurred. In several ^ases, Ohio juries, under the just laws 
enacted to meet the exigencies, gave judgment for damages, to the 
reasonable value of the slaves rescued, but in no cases were the judg- 
ments paid. This semblance of justice continued to grow lax, and 
men, who, at first, were willing to see stolen, or runaway slaves, re- 
stored, soon became indifferent, and in a few years, themselves en- 
couraged this growing interference with the property rights of the 
people of Kentucky. 

On the sixth day of December the Ohio River was closed by ice, 
for the first time in ten years, so early as this. It remained closed 
but four days, breaking up on the tenth. 

1846. 
Three thousand three hundred and thirty-six tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the county levy fixed at ninety cents. Of this 
number, fifteen hundred and forty-eight were whites, and seventeen 
hundred and eighty-eight blacks. 

An order was passed in the spring, granting to the Trustees of 
the town of Henderson a ferry license, from the town to the Indiana 
shore, and James Rouse appointed keeper. February 19, by an act 
of the Legislature, Henderson, with Christian, Hopkins, and Union, 
were constituted into the Seventh Judicial District. During the ses- 
sion of the Legislature a joke was played upon Samuel Allison, the 
noted humorist, the greatest of all jokers. A bill, changing his name 
from that of Allison, to that of Samuel Allison Jones, was quietly 
slipped through both houses, without his knowledge or consent. 

WAR WITH MEXICO. 

The struggle with Mexico had now been initiated, and Kentucky 
had been called upon for her quota of volunteers. However, parties 
differed as to its justice or policy. The call so struck the popular 
chord as to enlist thirteen thousand seven hundred volunteers, while 
the call was for, and only less than five thousand could be accepted. 
Henderson County responded promptly, but only a few of her volun- 
teers were accepted. 

Major Philip Barbour, one of the most distinguished officers of 
the war, and who was killed while leading his men, at the storming of 
the breastworks of the City of Monterey, was from this county. This 
is the year the renowned wag, " Bill Pew," was arrested and confined 
in the county jail, charged, with others, with the murder of George 
Robards, on Green River. 



^ 



176 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

1847. 

Three thousand four hundred and forty-four tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the county levy fixed at ninety cents. Of this 
number fifteen hundred and sixty-one were whites, and eighteen hun- 
dred and eighty-three were blacks. An act was approved January 12, 
submitting the question of calling a convention, to revise and amend 
the second Constitution of Kentucky, which was adopted August 17, 
1799. At the August election this act was defeated, in Henderson, 
but adopted by a large majority in the State. 

Another great flood occurred in the Ohio during the month of 
February, and reached a point within nine inches of the line reached 
in 1832. The chief reason for .this great rise, and almost unprece- 
dented freshet, was the great rain-fall, the heaviest ever known in Ken- 
tucky in so short a time. On the nights of the ninth and tenth of 
December, the smaller Kentucky streams arose with wonderful and 

alarming rapidity. 

1848. 

Three thousand four hundred and sixty-eight tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the county levy fixed at ninety cents. Of this 
number, fifteen hundred and forty-one were whites, nineteen hundred 
and twenty-one were blacks. It will be observed that for several years 
the black tithables had gained in number over the whites. On the 
twenty-ninth day of February the Legislature re-appointed the Sena 
torial Districts, constituting Henderson and Daviess the Fifth, On 
the same day an act was approved, changing the voting place from 
David Sights' to William Sutton's, 

The discovery of gold in California caused a vast and unparal- 
leled emigration to the shores of the Pacific, from every quarter of 
the globe, and Henderson was not behind in sending her quota; quite 
a company, mounted upon mules, left overland from this place, and, 
after many trials, succeeded in reaching the Golden Gate. Among the 
number, were Jas. E. Ricketts, David Hart, David Herndon, Moses 
Foard, James Lyne and David Lockett. In August the question of call- 
ing a convention to revise and amend the constitution of the State, 
was again submitted, and carried in the State by an overwhelming 
majority. Gov. Archibald Dixon was elected a delegate from this 
county, and was decidedly one of the most active, energetic and intel- 
ligent members of that great body. 

1849. 

Three thousand five hundred and twenty-five tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar. Of this 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 177 

number, fifteen hundred and fifty were whites, and nineteen hundred 
and seventy-five were blacks. 

Owing to the increase of^* population in the lower end of the 
county, an election precinct was established at the residence of Col. 
Robert Smith, near the Point, or what is now known as Smith's Mills* 

Walter C. Brown entered into contract with the county to build 
a bridge over Canoe Creek, at the crossing leading to Morganfield, at 
and for the price of nineteen hundred dollars. The bridge was built, 
but a very short time after was discovered to be unsafe. The court 
appointed B. Brashear, A. OUiver, and Wyatt H. Ingram, commis- 
sioners, to investigate the structure, and after doing so, they reported 
it unsafe, and incapable of reconstruction, in its condition. There- 
upon the county appointed James M. Taylor, William Jones, Addison 
Posey, and E. F. Randolph, commissioners to build another, and di- 
reicted suit to be entered against Brown and his securities. After 
several trials, and much trouble, the suit was compromised, by the 
county loosing heavily, as is generally the case. 



12 



CHAPTER XIX. 



NEW CONSTITUTION INCREASE IN POPULATION SUSPENSION BRIDGES 

COUNTY POOR HOUSE — HENDERSOM ASSUMES THE CARE OF HER 
STREETS AND PAUPERS — OHIO RIVER FROZEN FOR FIF- 
TY-THREE DAYS — FINE CROPS STATE AGRI- 
CULTURAL MEETING, ETC. 1850. 

y^HREE thousand six hundred and twenty-six tithables were re- 
^^ ported this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar and 
fifty cents. Of this number sixteen hundred and thirty-four were 
whites, and nineteen hundred and ninety-two were blacks. 

The Convention to revise the Constitution of the State had com- 
pleted its work, having been in session from the first day of October 
to December 21, 1849. 

In March, an act was approved, submitting the question of chang- 
ing the constitution to the people for their adoption or rejection. 
May 7, 1850, the new Constitution was adopted by a large popular 
majority, and on June 3, the convention again assembled and adopted 
several amendments, and June 11, adjourned after proclaiming the 
present or third constitution. 

The great underlying cause of dissatisfaction with the second con- 
stitution, was the life term of judges, and clerks of courts, justices of 
the peace, and some other offices, which led to the radical change of 
making nearly all offices eligible directly by the people. After thirty- 
three years of experience, it is still an open question with many 
whether the change in this regard has subserved the public interest 
or the cause of justice, or improved the public morals. Henderson 



180 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

County opposed the change. A majority of the most interested busi- 
ness and most intellio^ent of her citizens voted against the change. 

The official count for this year gave Henderson County a popu- 
lation of twelve thousand one hundred and seventy-one souls, an in- 
crease of two thousand five hundred and twenty-three since the cen- 
sus of 1840. Of this number seven thousand six hundred and fifty- 
one were whites, four thousand three hundred and ninety-seven were 
blacks, and one hundred twenty-three free colored. 

The cholera appeared again this year, but was by no means so 
severe as in previous years. 

The earthquake was an unwelcome visitor again. It came with a 
single sharp shock, at five minutes past eight o'clock on the evening 
of April 4. No damage, worse than fright, was done. 

February 9, the provisions of the Mechanics' Lien Law were 
made to apply to Henderson, as well as other cities and towns in the 
State. 

NEW BRIDGES. 

During the summer and fall of the year, the first suspension and 
covered bridges were built by Samuel Caruthers. The bridge over Ca- 
noe Creek, at the Madisonville crossing, was built at a cost of one thou- 
sand nine hundred and ninety-two dollars, while the abutments and ap- 
proaches cost five hundred and forty-nine dollars. The bridge over 
Canoe Creek, at the Morganfield crossing, cost, all told, three thou- 
sand nine hundred and fifty dollars. Prior to 1850, the bridges at the 
main public crossings, had been a continual expense to the county, 
and no bridges had been built to last longer than five or six years. 
Very little money has been expended on the bridges built by Mr. 
Caruthers, and they are in the most excellent condition to this day. 

1851. 

Three thousand seven hundred and ninety-two tithables were ro- 
ported this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar and fifty 
cents. Of this number, sixteen hundred and eighty-three were whites, 
and two thousand one hundred and nine were blacks. The new con- 
stitution was now in full force, and also the laws, as far as written. 
The acts of the Legislature had been revised and amended to con- 
form to that document. 

COUNTY OFFICIALS QUALIFIED. 

At the January term of the County Court, the old Magistrates 
and other officers retired, and at a special session for the purpose of 
qualifying all officers elected, under the new constitution and laws, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 181 

William Rankin, County Judge ; William i). Allison, County and Cir- 
cuit Clerk; J. M. Stone, Sheriff; James Rouse, Coroner; D. N. Wal- 
den, Surveyor; Thomas J. Lockett, Assessor, and L. W. Brown, Jailer, 
took the oaths required and were qualified. There were six districts 
in the county, and elections for magistrates and constables having 
been held, the following appeared and were qualified: 

Magistrates. — Robert Dixon, John T. Moore, James H. King, 
James Thomas, Joel E. Gibson, Russell K. Thornberry, Ben. Tal- 
bott, John F. Grider, William E. Bennett, Isom Johnson, H. L. Chea. 
ney, William S. Hicks, L. Weaver and Isaac M. Freels— two justices 
to each district, 

Constables. — District No. 1, B. F. Martin ; No. 2, Harbert A. 
Powell ; No, 3, George A. Long; No. 4, Achilles H. Norment ; No. ' 
5, Hansford E. Rouse ; No. 6, Joseph Priest. A few weeks after 
Mr. Priest resigned, and Edward T. Hazelwood was appointed in his 
stead. 

Election districts and voting places were established as follows : 
District No. 1, Gibson's ; No. 2, Corydon ; No. 3, Randolph Ors- 
burn's ; No. 4, Achilles Norment's ; No. 5, Henderson ; No. 6, Ed. 

D. Bennett's. 

Under the old constitution the Magistrates received no pay. Un- 
der the new, they were allowed two dollars per day, and since 1850, 
the pay has been increased to three dollars per day for every day they 
are called to meet. 

FRUIT KILLED. 

The spring of 1851 was the coldest and most severe known since 
1834. On the first day of May, there was a heavy black frost, destroy- 
ing all kinds of fruit and many tender trees. Fires and overcoats 
were indispensible, while the thermometer registered 20° above zero. 

POWELL and DIXON. 

In this year the Democratic party, for the first time in many 
years, succeeded in electing their candidate for Governor. This 
gentleman was a distinguished son of Henderson County, Lazarus W. 
Powell. The defeated Whig candidate was also a distinguished resident 
of Henderson, Archibald Dixon. The excitement in the county was in- 
tense, of course, but no matter which of the two, the county felt itself 
honored in his election. 

March, 1851, the voting place in District No. 6, was changed from 

E. D. Bennett's to Hebardsville. . An act was approved, dividing the 



182 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

State into four Appellate Districts, for election of judges of the Court 

of Appeals. Henderson, with Fulton, Hickman, Ballard, Mc- 

Cracken, Graves, Calloway, Marshall, Livingston, Crittenden, Union, 

Hopkins, Caldwell, Trigg, Todd, Logan, Simpson, Warren, Allen, 

Christi.4n Muhlenburg, Daviess, Ohio, Butler, Edmondson, Hancock, 

Grayson and Breckenridge, became the Fourth District. An act was 

approved, creating twelve Judicial Circuits, and Henderson, with 

Caldwell, Trigg, Christian, Todd, Hopkins and Union, became the 

Second District. 

1852. 

Three thousand eight hundred an twelve tithables were reported 
this year, and one dollar and fifty cents fixed as the county levy. Of 
this number, sixteen hundred and eighty-four were whites, and twen- 
ty-one hundred and twenty-eight were blacks. 

A COLD winter. 

The winter of 1851-52 was a severe cold one. On the night of 
January 19, the he viest snow known for years covered the earth. 
The Ohio River closed that night, for the second time during the sea- 
son, the first instance of the kind within civilized memory. The ther- 
mometer was below zero all day, and at midnight was reported at 30 
degrees below. 

LOUIS KOSSUTH, 

the great Hungarian patriot, and his party, passed down the Ohio 

this year, and hundreds of people of all ages visited the river to get 

a glimpse of him. 

unceremonious baptizing. 

On a Sunday afternoon, during the spring of this year. Old Willis 
Walker, as he was called, a noted colored Baptist divine, held a bap- 
tizing at the foot of First Street. The bank, for some distance from 
the lilufT, inclined but little, in fact, seemed almost on a level with the 
water. On this sandy plane was congregated a vast concourse of peo- 
ple, anxious to witness the ordinance performed. While the multitude 
gathered at the water's edge, and were engaged in singing, the great 
steamboat, " Eclipse," came up the river, running, perhaps, not ex- 
ceeding two hundred feet from the shore, and as she passed by, the 
water was drawn from its rightful line at least ten feet. To this great 
power of the wonderful steamer, the excited, singing multitide ap- 
peared oblivious, but followed the water-line, when as quick as thought, 
the water returned with a great swell, and quicker than thought, an 
hundred or more were freely baptized up to and above their knees. 
From this unceremonious ducking, and ruining of their starched Sun- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 183 

day clothes, it is unnecessary to say the unfortunate, and those more 
fortunate, scampered as fast as their pedal extremities would permit. 

During 1852 the Owensbojo Road crossed Canoe Creek, about 
one hundred yards on a direct line below where the present bridge is 
located, and ran from thence over the ground where the railroad round- 
house is situated, thence in the rear of Tames P. Breckenridge's resi- 
dence, and thence to Center Street, on the ground now occupied by 
the residences of L. F. Clore and Thomas Gilligan. 

At that time Center Street was not opened beyond Adams Street, 
but all that territory, now so handsomely improved, was a woodland, 
owned by James Alves, and inclosed by a running plank fence. At 
Adams Street was a gate, which opened to a roadway leading to his 
residence on the hill, now owned and occupied by Hon. Jno. Young 
Brown and Major John J. Reeve. Upon petition of Mr. Alves, and 
others, an order was passed by the County Court changing this road 
to the road coming in Third Street, and then the old road was closed 
up. In 1852 Samuel Caruthers built the present covered bridge over 
Canoe Creek, and, at the October Court of Claims, moved the court 
to allow him his contract price, to-wit, sixteen hundred dollars, and 
here the first objection to the change of road was suggested. The 
motion of Caruthers was overruled, it being claimed that the bridge 
was not built at the place lawfully designated and fixed by authority 
of the court, and that Caruthers knew it. At the same court James 
Alves and Joel Lambert presented a claim for three hundred and sixty 
dollars, for abutments, which was also rejected. This unaccountable 
behavior on the part of the court continued until the April court,' 
1854, when the claims were allowed, and a committee appointed to 
sell the bridge to the Plank Road Company, for the best price they 
could get, in money or Plank Road stock. 

At the August court, 1853, Joseph Borum, John G. Holloway, A. 
B. Barrett, John Funk, and James D. Hatchett, who had united as a 
company, for the purpose of building a plank road, five miles in length, 
filed an agreement and subscription in open court, whereupon, Henry 
J. Eastin, Willie Sugg, and Edmond Robertson, were appointed to 
view a route ; the committee did so, and their report was received, and 
the road located. Failing to sell the bridge to the Plank Road Com- 
pany in 1859, the following order was passed : 

" For sufficient reasons appearing to the Court, the County releases and 
transfers to the Plank Road Company, all the interest and claim of the County 
in and to the bridge over the town fork of Canoe Creek, on condition that the 
said company keep the said bridge in good repair at its own expense " 



184 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

1853. • 

Three thousand eight hundred and twenty tithables were reported 
this year, and one dollar and fifty cents was fixed as the county levy. 
Of this number, sixteen hundred and seventy-eight were whites, and 
twenty-one hundred and forty two were blacks. 

This year Fernwood Cemetery was established. The cholera 

again visited Henderson, and in some localities was distressingly fatal, 

particularly was this the case along First Street, where the land was 

low and marshy. 

1854. 

Three thousand nine hundred and forty-eight tithables were re- 
ported this year, and one dollar and fifty cents was fixed as the 
county levy. Of this number, seventeen hundred and twenty-seven 
were whites, and twenty-two hundred and twenty-one were blacks. 

March 10 an act was approved incorporating the Paducah & Hen- 
derson Railroad, with L. W. Powell, Grant Green, Joel Lanibert, Al- 
exander B. Barrett, F. H. Dallam, and C. W. Hutchen, incorporators. 
It is to be regretted that this road was never " begun, completed, and 
ended." It did end in nothing being done. 

The Know Nothing Party had come into existence, and Hender- 
son County was claimed by that party. 

The Ohio River was lower in September of this year, than at any 
time since October, 1838, at which time it was lower than ever before 
known to the white man. 

A filibustering expedition against Nicaragua was quietly organized in 
Kentucky this year, and Henderson furnished her quota of impetuous, 
misguided youths. Robert Burbank, a brilliant young man, enlisted 
and died while in that service. 

COUNTY POOR HOUSE. 

Up to this time the county paupers were leased out by the year, 
but in 1853 the County Court became convinced that it was best to 
purchase and maintain a county poor-house, and in accordance with 
that conviction, 

"Ordered that Jas. M. Stone. Geo M. Priest, D. N. Walden, and Joel 
Lambert, be appointed commissioners to select, and report the most suitable 
tract of land, and eligible location in the county for a poor house, the said 
tract to contain not less than one hundred acres, and not exceeding two hun- 
dred acres." 

The court not approving of the report of this committee, William 
§. Hicks, Isom Johnson, and R. K. Thornberry, were appointed to 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 185 

select a site. In December, 1854, the committee reported, and 
Charies Elliott's land, containing one hundred and eight acres, lying 
on the Madisonville Road, eight and a half miles from the city of 
Henderson, was purchased for fhe sum of two thousand dollars. In 
the year 1872, it was deemed advisable to sell the Poor House farm, 
purchased in 1854, and Ben V. Gibson and C. S. Royster were ap- 
pointed to report upon the propriety of selling, and also to select and 
report a suitable site, contract for a building of ample size to accom- 
modate the demand made upon the county, but not to exceed the sum 
of three thousand dollars. 

The committee reported a sale of the old farm to John M. 
Whitledge, for the sum of two thousand three hundred and four 
dollars and forty cents, and the purchase of B. P. Green, on the 
road leading from Corydon to Cairo, of eleven acres and ten perches, 
for three thousand dollars. May 12 the report was adopted, and since 
that fhne the county Poor House has remained where then located, 
upon one of the prettiest and most cheerful sites of the county. 

• 1855. 

Three thousand eight hundred and thirty tithables were reported 
this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar and fifty cents. Of 
this number, fifteen hundred and fifty-eight were whites, and twenty- 
two hundred and seventy-two were blacks. 

CITY AND COUNTY COMPROMISE. 

Before the levy was made by the Court of Claims, the Mayor of 
the City of Henderson, Martin S. Hancock, appeared before the court 
according to law, and satisfied that body, that the city was amply able 
to care for her own streets and paupers, whereupon, an order was 
entered of record, releasing the city from the county levy of one dollar 
and fifty cents, deducting from the list of tithables reported, two hun- 
dred and ninety-four whites, and two hundred and twenty-six blacks, 
the estimated number living within the city limits. 

From this, it will be seen, that the assessed tithable population 
of the City of Henderson, in 1855, was five hundred and twenty. 

On the third day of February, the river was closed by ice, and 
remained closed for eleven days. 

Political excitement ran high this year, and was intensified by 
the terrible riot, on August 6, in the city of Louisville, commonly 
known as " Bloody Monday." 



186 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

1856. 

Three thousand two hundred and thirty tithables were reported 
this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar. 

On the fifteenth day of February, an act was approved, appor- 
tioning the State into thirteen Judicial Districts. Henderson, with 
Hopkins, Caldwell, Trigg, Christian, Todd and Muhlenburg, composed 
the Second District. 

On the twenty-seventh day of February, the closure of the Ohio 
River by ice, for the surprising period of fifty-three days, ceased, and 
the river broke up. 

Parafifine oil, of great illuminating power, extracted from the can- 
nel coal found near Cloveiport, Breckenridge County, was first intro- 
duced this year, and aided, as it was, by the ingenious lamp,* soon 
superseded the old tallow candle. 

March 10, an act was approved, directing the Quarterly Courts 
of Henderson County to be held on the first Monday in January, 
April, July and October. 

MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY. 

On the same day, an act was approved, incorporating the Ken- 
tucky and Henderson Mutual Insurance Company, John G. Holloway, 
P. H. Hillyer, George M. Priest, Joel Lambert, A. J. Anderson, Peter 
Semonin, M. S. Hancock and Samuel P. Spalding, incorporators, for 
the purpose of insuring their respective dwelling houses, stores, shops, 
other buildings and household furniture, against loss by fire. The 
company was authorized to insure similar property in other parts of 
the State. So far as has been ascertained, this company was organ- 
ized, but never carried the object of the charter of incorporation into 
effect. 

During this year steamboats ran only two months, owing to ex- 
treme low water and ice. 

January 31, the river closed by ice, and remained closed until Feb- 
ruary 28, when the first steamboat passed down. 

Governor L. W. Powell was elected President of the Henderson 
& Nashville Railroad. This was a year of 

" ASTRONOMICAL WONDERS." 

There was a total eclipse of the sun, April 5, and an annual 
eclipse, September 28. On the twenty-eighth of April and thirteenth 
of October, there was a partial eclipse of the moon. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 187 

April 5, the Henderson, Hopl<ins & Union Agricultural and Me- 
chanical Association, having organized a few weeks before, purchased 

of Nestler & Beverly the beautiful grounds yet owned by the 

■*• 

""HENDERSON FAIR COMPANY." 

At this time A. B. Barrett was President, and Cuthbert Powell, 
Secretary. 

On the twenty-seventh day of July, a new church at Pleasant Hill, 
on the Madison ville Road, eight or nine miles from the city, was ded- 
icated. 

October 21, the first Fair was held. The amphitheater was only 
half completed, but the display and attendance was truly gratifying 
to the directory. 

The crop of this year was the best, perhaps, ever known in the 
county. There was more wheat sown and corn planted, and a larger 
yield than looked for. The Mt. Vernon, Indiana, " Advocate," speak- 
ing of this crop, said : 

" We observe that some of our cotemporaries are boasting of the height 
of corn in their respective localities. There is a field of some one hundred 
acres lying in Henderson County, just opposite this place, that we will pit 
against any in the country of a similar extent It contains many stalks over 
sixteen feet in height, and the general average in the entire field is from fourteen 
to fifteen feet." 

1857. 

Three thousand five hundred and sixty-seven tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar. A disease, 
called the " farcy," was quite prevalent among the horses and mules 
this year, and many of them died. Money matters were tight, yet the 
annual exhibition of the " Kentucky 

STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY," 

Held on the grounds of the Henderson Fair Company, commencing 
October 13, was largely attended and proved a brilliant success. The 
" Reporter" of the twenty-second, said : 

"The Fair was attended by a large number of people hailing from all 
parts of Kentucky, and even from neighboring and distant States, Every- 
thing in the power of the managers and citizens generally, was done to render 
the stay of the immense crowd in the city and at the Fair Grounds, comforta-> 
ble and pleasant. 

'* At the grounds the display' was fine in every department, and from the 
first day to the last, nothing of importance occurred to mar the good will 
among competitors and the people. The display in the implement hall was 
very fine The floral hall, for which the ladies deserve all the credit, was not 
only pleasant to the eye, but astonishing to the mind." 



188 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Governor Powell delivered a well prepared address. After a full 
setllement of all indebtedness, the State Board had to their credit, in 
cash, two thousand four hundred 'and eighty-eight dollars and eighty 
cents. 

On the twenty-fourth day of September, the great editor and 
poet, George D. Prentice, delivered his lecture to an immense audi- 
ence, at the Presbyterian Church. 

The river closed again on January 19, and overflowed its banks 

in the fall. 

1858. 

Three thousand six hundred and thirty-eight tithables were re- 
ported this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar and fifty cents. 

This was a year of Fridays. The year began and ended on Fri- 
day ; January and October began and ended on Friday ; April and 
December ended on Friday, and there were fifty-three Fridays in the 
vear. 

The month of January was an unheard of wpt month; corn in 
river pens suffered almost total ruin, in many cases the cob wholly, 
and the grain partially rottmg, rendering the grain unfit for the com- 
monest uses. Too much heat and water rendered this year more un- 
seasonable than any since 1834: 

January 18, a Henderson letter appeared in the Louisville Courier, 
from which the following is taken. 

" Our city is rapidly gaining accessions to its population. Houses, both 
for dwelling and business, are scarce, not enough to supply the demand. In 
view of this fact, several of our capitalists have projected, and will build quite 
a number of stores and residences next spring and summer. Land is high, 
and the tendency is to still higher prices ; fifty dollars per acre is asked for 
land lying three, five, and even eight miles from the city. The fact that a 
large amount of the Henderson iS: Nashville Railroad bonds were recently sold 
in the city of Ncw York for cash, caused a happy feeling here, and will tend 
to keep up the present high price of land." 

The railroad excitement, as is well known, did more than inspire 
the tenacious land-holder with renewed hope, it ruined the prospects 
of the town, in the opinion of non-residents. A large majority of the 
land owners were rejoiced at the increase in the price of their terri- 
iory per acre, but determined not to risk one cent in the building of 
the road, therefore Henderson stood still for many years. The great 
comet, Charles V, was visible in this county during the fall of this 
year. 

September 30, the first daily mail Henderson had enjoyed, was 
established, an overland route to and from Evansville. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



189 



In the e'arly fall of this year, Nathaniel D. Terry cabled the Ohio 
at Evansville, and established and operated the Old Telegraph line 
successfully. Prior to that time^the wire had crossed on high poles, 
above Evansville, but was so interfered with by steamboat chimneys, 
during high water, that the plan was abandoned, and the line sold. 
October 14, the temperance prodigy, Josephus Cheaney, a native 
of Henderson, and yet very young, lectured in Henderson. This 
natural orator, by no means handsome or beautiful, traveled in Europe 
and over the greater part of the United States, laboring from the 
rostrum, in the good cause of temperance, and yet, it was said, in his 
young days, that he possessed a keen relish for liquor straight, and 
could track a mint julep across the river. 

Prior to the fall of this year, fashion had induced all of the gentle . 
sex to deform themselves in matter of dress. Hoops were fashionable, 
and the more enormous the hoops, the more fashionable the wearer. 
The nearer the model of a five gallon demijohn a lady could approach, 
the nearer she succeeded in reaching the climax of disfigurement and 
the demands of fashion. 

In those days there was but one hack in Henderson County, so 
in times of parties and swell occasions, young men, who doubted the 
policy of having their sweethearts foot it, frequently called into requi- 
sition the family buggy. Although such a vehicle, in these days, 
would be amply convenient for three persons, yet, in 1858, when the 
lady of hoops had seated herself, there was really no room for the 
gentleman, and he was therefore compelled to submit to circumscribed 
space, ride the horse, of else content himself with the footman's seat 
behind. A full dress lady of 1858, seated in one of the Delker 
Phaeton Company's modern make of buggies, would be a sight suf- 
ficient to frighten a whole army of timid men. It was a horrid fashion, 
and thank heavens the French connosseurs, in the fall of that year, 
gave to the female world a dress more modest and becoming. Since 
that time, with the exception of what is called trails, female dress has 
been confined within the bounds of good taste. About that time, the 
gentlemen wore large-legged pants, so large, that, I venture, if a pair 
of them were suddenly to make their appearance on the streets, the 
wearer would be followed by the boys, as though he were a curiosity 
indeed. 

In February, an act of the Legislature was approved, extending 
the term of the Henderson Circuit Court, from twenty-four to thirty-six 
judicial days. 



190 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

1859. 

Three thousand seven hundred and seventy-three tithables were 
reported this year, and the county levy fixed at one dollar and fifty 
cents. 

At the August County Court, Judge Grant Green on the bench, 
Isham Cottingham, William E. Bennett, Y. E. Allison, Harbert A. 
Powell, Hugh Moss, William S. Hicks, and E. T. Hazlewood, justices, 
answered to their names. Col. John W. Crockett, representing the 
Mayor and Council of the City of Henderson, moved the court to 
surrender up to the city a certain lot of ground, which was then under 
fence, and unlawfully claimed by the county, whereupon the following 
order was entered : 

"It is ordered that the Jailer of Henderson County surrender up to the 
City of Henderson, all that ground now enclosed as a public square, not em- 
braced in the deed from Samuel Hopkins for Richard Henderson & Company, 
dated April 1, i8oo, to the county, Book A, page 135, the true boundary to be 
ascertained by D. N. Walden, and he is directed to return a plat of said sur- 
vey to this court for record, and to plant stones at the corners." 

The city agreed to build a good fence, as also to pay for a fill 
made by James Manion, to be measured and ascertained by Walden. 
At the October Court Walden reported the fill worth one hundred and 
twenty-six dollars and fifty-five cents, which the court accepted. 

W. E. Lambert, a member of the Common Council, then on be- 
half of the city, presented two accounts against the county, amount- 
ing to nine hundred and thirty-two dollars, for grading, paving, and 
graveling in front and opposite the Court House lot, these accounts 
the court rejected, and refused to levy for their payment. This im- 
agined bad faith on the part of the city, in asking no more than she 
was justly entitled to, incensed the high Court of Justices, and the next 
day the following order, in substance, was adopted : 

"Ordered, that the order accepting the report of D. N. Walden be set 
aside, and that the order surrendering a part of the Public Square to the city, 
be rescinded, and the Jailer directed to hold on to every inch of ground inclosed 
aroutid Court House Square, from Main to Elm Streets, and he is author- 
ized to employ counsel, and take all lawful steps and means to retain and de- 
fend the possession of every part of said inclosed ground." 

To this sweeping order. Colonel Crockett, on behalf of the city, 
objected, but this objection was fruitless. This, then of course, was 
the beginning of a great law suit, which the city gained. The lot of 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 191 

ground in dispute is now owned and controlled by the city, and is the 
lot upon which the market house and City Hall stands— a full descrip- 
tion of the title to this ground ^ill be found in the history of Hen 
derson. 

In August, 1859, Professors Marlow, Tremelier and Artis, adver- 
tised their Female Academy. Political excitement this year, as for 
many years anterior, ran high. Samuel O. Peyton, Democrat, de- 
feated General James Jackson, opposition ; as an evidence of the great 
excitement the newspapers published at that time, the Reporter and 
Commercial, paid no attention whatever to local news matter. It is a 
fact that they denied space to important news, for the purpose of pub- 
lishing long-winded political editorials, personal compliments, and 
scathing articles against the opposing candidates. This was the year 
of the great can vass between Josh Bell and Beriah Magoffin. Magoffin 
was elected, but Henderson voted for Bell. 

On the thirty-first day of August, Colonel William S. Elam was 
shot and seriously wounded by one Lewis Leonard. At the trial of 
Leonard, Colonel Elam, who was a witness, was severely cross-exam- 
ined by Hal. Barbour, a brilliant young lawyer and nephew, by mar- 
riage, of F. H. Dallam, a leading lawyer at this bar. Barbour was 
visiting-Henderson at the time, and volunteered to defend Leonard. 
In his argument to the jury, Barbour applied the lash to Elam most 
unmercifully, and from this it was well known that a personal ren- 
counter would ensue. Both parties were immediately placed under 
bond by the Judge, but this was not enough to soothe the now out- 
raged honor of Elam. It was said that a challenge passed, and was 
accepted, that the time and place was agreed upon, that both parties 
were determined, but through the interference of Governor Dixon, 
Messrs Dallam, Hughes, Cissell and others, a better understanding 
was arrived at, and'finally peace declared. Hon. Grant Green, hav- 
ing been elected at the August election, Auditor of Public accounts, 
resigned his office of County Judge, and after a hotly contested elec" 
tiont Luke W. Trafton was elected to fill out his unexpired term. 

On the eighth day of October, the celebrated Paragon Morgan, 
by long odds the handsomest horse ever owned in the county, died 
from overheat in driving him from Morganfield to Henderson. The 
Postmaster at Smith's mil'ls, having failed for three successive quar- 
ters, to make his quarterly report to the Post Office Department at 
Washington, the office was discontinued until December, when it was 



192 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



again re-established. On the twenty-eighth day of October, James 
Tillotson, a great local politician, and noted county man, and for 
whom one of the precincts of the county was called, and yet bears his 
name, died. The Spottsville Postmaster resigned his office and re- 
commended a discontinuance of the same. 



CHAPTER XX. 



THE WAR CLOUDS — TROUBLOUS TIMES WITH THE SLAVE PROPERTY — IN- 
TERESTING STATISTICS — THE GREAT DAY FOR TRAFFICING IN 
NEGROES — PUBLIC MEETINGS CONCERNING THE WAR 
— ORGANIZATION OF MILITIA COMPANIES, 
ETC., ETC., ETC. — 1860. 

Y^ HE population of Henderson County, by official count, was re- 
^^ ported this year, to be fourteen thousand two hundred and 
sixty-two, an increase of two thousand and ninety-one since the cen- 
sus of 1850. Of this number, eight thousand four hundred and five 
were whites, five thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven were slaves, 
ninety-five free colored, and fourteen hundred and forty-two foreigners. 
Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, was this year elected President of 
the United States, and upon a platform whose cause of difference be- 
tween the two great sections of the country was irreconcilable. It was 
evident that a struggle, destined to rend the country in pieces amid 
carnage, desolation and blood, was now dawning, and would soon re- 
sult in war more terrible than had ever before been known. Slavery 
was now to be abolished in toto, or the right to hold slaves settled for- 
ever. The question had agitated the country for several years, and 
the election of Mr. Lincoln was taken by the extreme Southern States 
to mean freedom of the negro. Kentucky lay topographically in the 
center of the grouping States, in fact she occupied the identical po- 
litical and social ground between the contending parties, she had held 
in her earliest settlement between the Northern and Southern tribes 
of Indians. She was then the "dark and bloody ground," and upon 

13 



194 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

her soil was fought great battles by contending forces from the North 
and South. 

Again she was to become the battlefield for the mighty hosts of 
the North and South, in martial form, a thousand times more terrible 
and destructive than in early times. How to avert this direful calam- 
ity, was a question patriots and statesmen labored hard and unceas- 
ingly to solve. Kentucky declined to secede from the Union, prefer- 
ring to remain neutral. Her natural and geographical sympathies 
were with the South, yet there was a sentiment of devotion to the 
Union, nearly akin to the religious faith, which is born in childhood, 
and which never falters during the excitement of the longest life, and 
which at last enables " the cradle to triumph over the grave." At this 
time Henderson county was strong Union, for the mass of her peo- 
ple had never reasoned about it. " The suggestion of its dissolution 
was esteemed akin to blasphemy." Aside from this, the great bulk of 
her people were better soldiers in peace, than in war, and felt none of 
those patriotic emotions Vv^hich rush into absolute and uncontrolable 
impetuosity at the tap of a drum or the shrill sound of a fife. Outside 
of two hundred or more enthusiastic young men of the county, the 
others were content with letting alone and being let alone. There 
seemed to be a greater disposition to make money at this time than 
ever before, and notwithstanding war was inevitable, and as a culminat- 
ing consequence slavery would be abolished, very many of the lead- 
ing planters of the county purchased large numbers of negroes, and 
extended the magnitude of their crops. Negroes were purchased up 
to the time of, and even before the first proclamation of Mr. Lincoln, 
and when all doubt as to the real and true intent of the party in 
power was settled beyond question, emissaries from the North were 
cautiously circulating among the negro population, and many bits of 
Abolition literature had been discovered. There were secret move- 
ments of the blacks, and evident dissatisfaction. There was hardly 
a day or night, but one or more of them did not find safe passage to 
Indiana. Insurrections became talked of, and for a time great un- 
easiness was manifestly apparent. Patrols and guards were kept 
along the entire river front, and yet with all these expensive precau- 
tions, many slaves effected a safe and farewell escape. In the latter 
part of 1859 a fellow named George A. Boyle, who had lived in Hen- 
derson for a year or more, and had oftentimes expressed himself in 
sympathy with Old John Brown, of Harper's Ferry fame, declared 
that he had a *' big Republican heart," and was suspected and accused 
of having circulated a large number of abolition pamphlets amongst 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 195 

the slaves of the city and county. He was watched and detected in 
holding Republican council with several negroes, and the City Coun- 
cil, upon learning this fact, voted that he should vacate the town. To 
this end a committee waited upon the gentleman of Abolition faith, 
and warned him if he did not depart, and that immediately, he would 
be furnished a free ride, and a tar suit profusely ornamented with va- 
rigated feathers. Boyle guided by the advice of the committee, took 
to his heels, and was never again seen in Henderson. He was a 
blacksmith by trade. There were many more such men as Boyle, but 
so secret were their movements, and so carefully and judiciously laid 
were all their plans, they escaped discovery, and continued to do their 
work unmolested. 

In February an act of the Legislature was approved, authorizing 
the Judge of the County Court to change the boundary or voting 
places in any precinct. 

March 2, that portion of the county lying north of Green River, 
and running from James Jones' lower corner, and then on a straight 
line to Ben. Allin's lower corner on Green River, was taken from Hen- 
derson and Added to Daviess County. 

November of this year, Thomas J. Lockett, who had been com- 
missioned to take the census of the county, made the following re- 
port. Population of the county and city, 14,753 ; population of the 
city, 4,011 ; wealth of the county, $14,594,251 ; wealthiest man in the 
county, A. B. Barrett, $1,850,000 ; oldest male, James Bell, ninety- 
three years ; oldest person, '' Milly," property of the estate of Colo- 
nel Robert Smith, one hundred and five years. 

December 6, under the military law. William P. Grayson, Colonel 
of the. Henderson County Militia, divided the county into military 
districts, and ordered an election to be held in each district on the 
eighteenth day of December, for the purpose of electing captains 
and lieutenants. The farce was never carried out. 

The following advertisement, which to many at this day will sound 
rather queer, appeared in the " Reporter " for several* issues : " B. 
W. Lucas advertises that he has and keeps constantly on hand a lot of 
likely negroes, which he will be pleased to sell at reasonable prices. 
Mr. Lucas is a gentleman who will do all that he says." 

About that time, and for some years prior to that time, negro 
traders made frequent visits to Henderson en route South, and would 
remain two or three weeks selling, exchanging, or buying negro slaves. 



196 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The first day of January of each year, was a great day. Great 
crowds of men congregated in the town, knowing it to be the day for 
hiring and selling negroes. A block, or box, was usually placed at 
the most central point of the principal street, and from this block, or 
box, negroes — men, women and children — were hired for the ensuing 
year, or sold outright. 

Now that those horrid times have past and gone, many men, who 
at that time dealt in human life, look back and acknowledge the jus- 
tice of universal freedom. 

Under the law, a slave could be sold under execution just the 
same as other property, and oftentimes, husband and wife, mother and 
child were separated,perhaps never to see each other again. Frequently, 
for the purpose of settling estates,the unity of a happy family of negroes 
was entirely broken up by sale. It was not an unfrequent occurrence 
for mother and father to be sold away down in Dixie, while their chil- 
dren were purchased by a resident, or some legatee of the estate. It 
was the universal custom to sell mean or worthless negroes, and most 
generally they were sent to the far South. Many a sad parting, a dis- 
tressing separation has been witnessed on the streets of Henderson. 
Tears have flown, and distressed manifestations and exclamations 
have been seen and heard, and yet the great mass would pass on as 
unconcernedly as though it was the braying of so many dumb brutes. 
Negroes, who were faithful, and were owned by humane masters, were 
well treated, and as a general thing were as happy as mankind is ever 
permitted to be, yet there were instances, where the treatment of 
these people was cruel in the extreme. As a rule, Henderson County 
slave owners were good masters, and were solicitous for the welfare of 
their negroes, and while some of the stories told by the people of the 
North concerning the treatment of this race, bore the semblance of 
truth ; in the main they were base fabrications, at least so far as those 
stories concerned Kentucky. 

November 6, the Presidential election was held. The Nat" 
ional Democratic party, having split in the Charleston S. C, Conven- 
tion, the two factions, each presented a candidate for the presidency? 
Stephen A. Douglas, representing one faction, John C. Breckenridge 
the other. Seeing this, the Republican party, then but a small factor 
in National politics, nominated Abraham Lincoln, while the old 
Whigs, opposition and Know Knothings, presented a candidate in 
the person of John Bell, of Tennessee. The contest on all sides was 
a bitter one, and in no county in the South did the excitement par- 
take of a greater blaze than in Henderson. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTV, KY. .197 

The county was stumped by able speakers, and the people thor- 
oughly aroused to the importance of polling a full vote. The follow- 
ing is the official vote of the county : 

Bell. Breckenridge. Douglas. Lincoln. 
Henderson Precinct 3:^>8 144 103 1 

TillotBon rrecinct 98 78 31 

Walnut Bottom 100 51 19 

HebardsvlUe Precinct : 117 70 2 

Woodruff Precinct 57 19 6 i 

Corytlon Precinct 116 126 48 .3 

Point Precinct 20 10 2 

846 498 211 5 

Showing conclusively, that Henderson was unmistakably a strong op' 
position county. Mr. Lincoln was elected chief magistrate, and upon 
the reception of this news, the aspect of affairs became truly alarming. 
Never in the history of the Nation, did a severance of the ties 
which bound the States together io one confederated community, ap- 
pear so inevitable. Of all the dark hours in the history of the Re- 
public, since the darkest moment in the war of Independance, the 
darkest cloud yet visible, had cast its shadows athwart the political 
heavens. The South Carolina Legislature, in session at this time, 
had taken measures to set up an independent government, and infor- 
mation from several of the Southern States indicated a determination 
to withdraw from the Union, and to inaugurate the dismemberment of 
a confederacy, united by the most hallowed and inspiring recollections, 
and by a unity and magnificence of interests unparallelled in the his- 
tory of Nations. 

The Government trembled under the strain caused by the war 
now waging between conflicting prejudices, interests and principles. 
Kentucky, most sensible to these grand and endearing memories, and 
inseparably involved in those common interests, claimed to be heard 
ere the torch was applied to the grand old temple, in which she was 
the oldest christened daughter of the constitution. Yes, Kentucky was 
deeply interested, for upon her soil, most likely, were the great con- 
tending forces to measure strong arms, and Henderson County was 
interested, for she was a border county. 

The State could not speak until the counties had spoken, and 
upon this depended the destiny of all. Henderson was among the 
first to speak. A meeting of the people of the city and county was 
called to meet at the Court House Saturday night November 10, 1860, 
circulars were issued, setting forth in strong language the importance 
of the meeting, and at the hour of meeting, a large and enthusiastic 
audience had assembled. On motion of F. H. Dallam, Hon. Archi- 



198 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

bald Dixon was called to the chair, and J. W. Rice, appointed Secre- 
tary. Governor Dixon, on taking the chair, explained the object of 
the meeting, and then made an eloquent appeal in favor of the Union. 
On motion of Mr. Dallam, a committee of five on resolutions was 
ordered, and the Chairman appointed F. H. Dallam, C. W. Hutchen, 
Colonel John W. Crockett, Harvey Yeaman and J. Cabell Allen. 

While the committee was out Hon. B. W. Hanna, of Terre Haute, 
Indiana, a distinguished lawyer and politician, being loudly called for, 
came forward and addressed the meeting in a most eloquent speech. 
Colonel John T. Bunch, Ira Delano and S. B Vance, were called 
for and responded in speeches of great power. At the close of Mr. 
Vance's speech the committee came in and made the following report. 
The resolutions were preceded by a long preamble only a portion of 
which it is deemed necessary to re^oroduce: 

"Whereas, It is apparent that certain misguided persons in the South 
^vould fain make tlie election of Mr, Lincoln tlie occasion, or pretext, of "pre- 
cipitating the so-called slave States into secession or revolution, while certain 
persons in the North would Ian the. liame of discontent in their section, for the 
same purpose. 

And, whereas In view of this deplorable state of things, it is eminently 
right, and indeed indispensible, that the people take at once the management 
of this all-important and paramount question out of the hands of partisans, 
politicians, and office-seekers. 

Therefore, resolved. First. That we do now, and here, proclaim our de- 
termined love and fealty to the Union as it is. 

Second. That we do now, and here, on the altar of our country's peace, 
and for the furtherance of the purposes we hstve indicated, oft'er and yield up 
all of our heretofore mere personal preferances and prejudices. 

'J'hird That in view of the dangers which imperil our common country, a 
mass meeting of all the citizens of the county, without distinction of party, 
be called, to l;e held in the Court House, on Saturday, the 17th inst., at 1 
o'clock 1* M , tor the purpose of consulting, and forming a suitable organiza- 
tion, by which to shape and regulate our action hereafter." 

F. H. Dallam then advocated the passage of the resolutions in[a 
forcible speech. Col. John W. Crockett addressed the meeting, and 
then a motion was made, requesting all of the papers in the Stale to 
copy the proceedings, and the meeting adjourned. 

The object of the meeting on the 17th, was to get an earnest ex- 
pression of the views of the people, upon the alarming issue between 
the triumph of sectionalism, and the threatened secession of the 
Southern States. 

The day of meeting came, and with it a multitude from every sec- 
tion of the county. The spacious court room was packed with citi- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



199 



zens, who evinced a solicitude for the welfare of the country, while 
their manifested anxiety showed that they appreciated the impending 
danger. Gov. Dixon was again galled to preside over the meeting, 
and^explained the object of its call in an address of the deepest 



feeling. 



Col. John W. Crockett, chairman of the committee appointed on 
resolutions, made the report, which was for the preservation of the 
Union at all hazzards. To read the report at this time, one would 
judge that the people of Henderson and Henderson County were 
preUy unanimously for the Union, but we find that on the twenty-fifth 
day of December (Christmas) the Henderson Artillery Organization, 
formed under the laws of Kentucky, turned out in full force, and 
fired fifteen rounds for the Southern Co?i_federacy. There was no dam- 
age done, however, beyond the serious wounding of G. L. Pierman, 
the gunner, by a premature discharge of the gun, and the upsetting of 
W. W. Catlin, who was standing near by at the time. 

At the close of this year the political mercury had risen to blood 
heat, and early in 1861 it indicated a still greater degree of political 

warmth. 

1861. 

January 10, in a column and a half editorial, the " Reporter " 
came out squarely for secession, and in the issue of the 17th, a red hot 
call was made for a mass meeting to be held at the Court House on 
Saturday, the 19th, ''to Id Henderson County express her sentiments^ 

There had been a meeting held in the Court House on the 5th, inst., 
at which strong Union resolutions were adopted, and this meeting to 
be held on the 19th, it was understood, was to place Henderson right on 
the record. The copy of the call will explain itself : 

'• Whereas, It is beUeved that the meeting at the Court House on the 
5, inst.. did not express the sense of the people of this eounty ; many have 
united in calling a mass meeting of the people irrespective of party, at the 
Court House on Saturday, the 19th January, at 2 o'clock, p. m., to take into 
consideration the state of the country , and indicate the course Kentucky should 
pursue in the present eniergenc3f The resolution offered by Judge Milton 
Young, at the meeting on the 5th, declares the Union paramount. Let us see 
if the people of Henderson County are willing to say to their Southern breth- 
ren, and their Northern enemies, that they are for the Union whether the 
South is equal under the Constitution or not People of Henderson County, 
read this bill, and see if you wih not come out on Saturday and rebuke the 
conduct of the men who have endeavored to place you in such a position."' 

The foregoing was circulated in every section of the county, and 
at the appointed time, the Court House was crowded to its capacity. 



200 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The meeting was organized by appointing Colonel John W. Crockett 
Chairman, and Robert T. Glass Secretary. It was soon evident that 
a great split was to occur ; there were those who wanted to sympathize 
with the South, and so express it in writing, while the large majority 
were in favor of standing by the resolutions of the previous meeting. 
Peace and harmony had withdrawn, and every fellow who could speak, 
and many more who could not, were yelling at the top of their voices, 
Mr. Chairman ! Mr. Chairman ! while in this tumultous uproar, and 
broad field of disorder, an old grey haired patriot entered the crowded 
auditorium, waiving over his head a large flag, "The Stars and 
Stripes " — great heavens, what a scene ! it could hardly be pictured : 
strong men wept like little children, the crowd arose seemingly en- 
masse, andfairlv rent the buildino^ with screams for the Union. The 
excitement was beyond control, and not until Governor Dixon, whose 
magnificent presence electrified all around him, had mounted the ros- 
trum, and waived his arm, could a composed looker-on, determine 
whether this wonderous crowd, was a convention of intelligent men, 
or an asylum of howling lunatics When comparative order had been 
restored, the flag was taken to the speaker's stand, and the announce- 
ment made that it had been presented by thirteen patriotic ladies of 
the city. I'his was the occasion for another outburst. To look upon 
the sea of humanity that surged within the walls of the Court House, 
it was but natural that Fancy should assert a temporary reign, 
and waving her jeweled sceptre, bid one's spirit back to the old Hall 
of Independence, where the representatives of the people, who writhed 
under the lash of oppression and the scorpion sting of wrong, were 
signing the declaration, pledging all, to conquer their oppressors or 
pour out their crimson life tide on the soil they had sworn to protect. 
In that throng were all ages — the boy, young and thoughtless ; the 
young, fired with patriotism and confident of strength, and the sire 
with the frosts of many winters silvering his aged locks, whose super- 
annuated frame quivered with a strange strength, whose prescient eye 
beheld the storm clouds in the Northern and Southern horizons, con- 
veying with the rapidity of the sweep of*a sirocco. Resolutions were 
passed, but not the sort of resolutions wanted by those who had been 
instrumental in calling the convention. 

The meeting adjourned amid the wildest confusion, and until a 
late hour in the night, the stars and stripes were" paraded over the 
town, followed by hundreds of men and boys ; music was in the air, and 
every man who could speak and had a good word to say for the flag, 
was serenaded, and called to the front. An unusual crowd gath- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 201 

ered in front of Governor Dixon's residence, and after listening 
to several pieces by the band, the Governor appeared, and for thirty 
minutes held them spell bound by his matchless eloquence. Late in 
the night the crowd- dispersed, and in three weeks afterwards, many 
of them were yelling the loudest for the Southern Confederacy. 

RESULT OF THE WAR SPIRIT. 

During the month, the followmg editorial appeared in the Re- 
porter : 

" We cannot remember when times were harder than at present, inoney is 
almost entirely withdrawn from circulation, and we are told is worth an al- 
most fabulous percenture per month. Real estate can hardly be disposed of 
at any price. The question is not how much money a man is worth, but how 
much can he raise. Negroes sold on New Years day at ruinously low figures, 
and the best of servants hired at prices vastly below the usual standard. Con- 
fidence cannot be restored in commercial circles until the National difficulties 
are settled, and the sooner the odious union between North and South is sev- 
ered the better Capitalists tvill not relax their 2)urse strings before the estab- 
lishment of the Southern Confederacy, which tve believe ivill be born about the 
fourth of March next.'' 

Contrary to the judgment of the "Reporter," money was never 
more plentiful, nor the wages of mechanics and laboring men so high, 
as during the war which followed. Expert stemmers of tobacco were 
known to hire for one hundred and fifty dollars per month, while the 
most ordinary hand could command seventy-five dollars. 

On the thirteenth day of January, Old Jack Shingler, one of the 
pioneers of the county, breathed his last. 

March 19, a terrible wind storm passed over the city, unroofing 
many houses. 

April 15, President Lincoln issued his proclamation, calling for 
seventy-five thousand militia to suppress the rebellion. A call was made 
upon Governor Beriah Magoffin for Kentucky's quota. The Governor 
sent the following dispatch : 

'• I say, emphatically, that Kentucky will furnish no troops for subduing 
her sister Southern States." 

After this the war began in earnest. River towns were seized, 
and a regular system of searching steamboats established. 

On the twenty-third day of April a meeting was held at the Court 
House for the purpose of organizing a Home Guard Company. Hon. 



202 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

John C. Atkinson presided, and Gawin I. Beatty performed the du- 
ties of Secretary. A large number enrolled their names, and in a few 
days a full company was organized and ready for service. An elec- 
tion of officers was held, and the following names chosen : E. L. 
Starling, Jr., Captain; First Lieutenant, Charles T. Starling; Second 
Lieutenant, Harvey Yeaman ; O. S., W. S. Johnson. 

A few weeks subsequent to this time, to-wit : on the twenty-fourth 
of June, another company of home guards enlisted, and the following 
were chosen officers : Jas. H. Holloway, Captain , L. W. Dan- 
forth. First Lieutenant ; William R. Lancaster, Second Lieutenant, 
Andy Rowdin, Third Lieutenant. 

Henderson, during the year, was well supplied with military. In 
addition to the two companies above named, there was the State 
Guard Company, organized November 7, 1859. This company was 
organized in the counting office of Kerr, Clark & Co., and had their 
first drill in the front room. W. P. Fisher, an old Mexican soldier, 
and then proprietor of the Hord House, was elected Captain ; E. G. 
Hall, First Lieutenant ; Leonard H. Lyne, Second Lieutenant, and 
Robert T. Glass, Third Lieutenant. 

On the twenty-fourth day of May, Colonel William S. Elam, of 
the State Militia, mustered the company into the State service. In 
the fall, Captain Fisher resigned, and the following officers were 
chosen ; E. G. Hall, Captain ; Robert T. Glass, First Lieutenant ; 
James H. Holloway, Second Lieutenant, and Samuel W. Rankin, 
Third Lieutenant. 

In the winter and spring of 18G0 and 1861, it was evident that 
war would result upon the inauguration of President Lincoln, and 
there was a great diversity of opinion among the men of the State 
Guards as to the right of the General Government, in calling upon 
the Slate of Kentucky for troops. This defection grew until most of 
those who held to the belief that the Government had the right, and 
that it was the duty of the militia to respond promptly, withdrew from 
the State Guard, as it was called, and enrolled with the " Home 
Guards " Captain Starling and Lieutenant Holloway among the num- 
ber. 

The Legislature of 18(10 and '61, had prescribed a new oath to 
be taken by the State Guard troops, and this created another breach, 
many members refusing to take it on account of its loyal tendency. 
By this time the State Military Board had been remodeled. Men of 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



203 



a more loyal turn of mind, to Kentucky, at least, if not to the Fed- 
eral Government, had been appointed, and the General Simon Bolivar 
Buckner State Guard, as they ^ere called, were generally looked upon 
with some degree of suspicion concerning their loyalty to Kentucky, 
therefore the organization of the Home Guards. These soldiers were 
not greatly admired by the Southern sympathizers, and "Home 
Guard " was an intentional sarcasm when applied by them, to any 
member of that command. 

Early in September an order was received from the Military Board 
at Frankfort, ordering fifty men of the Henderson Home Guards to 
Spottsville, for the purpose of guarding the lock and dam at that 
place. In obedience to that order, Captain Holloway, with a portion 
of his company and part of Company " A," under command of Lieu- 
tenant Charles T. Starling, left for the lock, marching overland 
through the mud and rain, and reaching that place at ten o'clock in 
the night. A few days afterwards, Captain Holloway was relieved for 
a shor't time by Captain Starling, with a reinforcement from Company 
"A." While the Home Guards were at Spottsville, a party of men 
seized the State Guard arms from the City Armory, consisting of a full 
compliment of Mississippi rifles and a six-pound canon, and left in 
the night for the South. A bond had been taken by the State for the 
safe keeping of these arms and their return, and this sudden proced- 
ure caused the securities on that bond, together with others, to pur- 
sue the fleeing captors. The flight was not so rapid as the chase, and 
as a consequence, the party were overtaken at Mrs. Ruby's, on the 
Madisonville Road, and persuaded to release the arms and permit 
their return to Henderson. They were brought back and returned to 
the armory in the brick store room now the Shelton Hotel, adjoining 
the house of A. S. Winstead's, on Second Street. The Military 
Board at Frankfort, soon heard of this, and in a few days thereafter 
the following resolution and order were received at Spottsville Head- 
quarters : 

" Military Board, Frankfort, September 20, 1861. 

^'Resolved. That Captain W. P. Fisher, of Henderson County, deliver 
the arms drawn by him tor his company, consisting of sixty rifles, sword, 
bayonets, sixty sets of accoutrements, one six pound brass cannon, equipments 
complete and seven artillery sabers and belts, to Captain E.L. StarHng. Jr., of said 

county, who is hereby authorized to demand, receive, and receipt for the same, 
and the Secretary is directed to notify each of said Captains. 

- P. SWIGERT, Secy." 



204 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

"Frankfort, September 20, 1861. 
" Captain E. L. Starling./r.: 

"You are authorized and directed to demand and receive, from Captain 
W. P. Fisher, the arms drawn by him for his Company as contained in the 
foregoirig resolutions of the Board. 

P. SWIGERT, Secretary." 

In obedience to this order, Captain Starling proceeded forthwith 
to Henderson, and made known his orders to Third Lieutenant Sam- 
uel W. Rankin, the only commissioned officer in the city at the time. 
Lieutenant Rankin, unhesitatingly turned over the key to the armory, 
and in a short time, the guns were being packed ready for shipment. 
This fact soon became known, and among a few of the old State 
Guards, there was a disposition to rebel. There were a sufficient 
number of men of Companies A and B. in the city to meet any 
trouble that might have been brought on, and they were summoned to 
the armory, and never did men respond more promptly. A guard was 
placed in the armory, and also in charge of the six pound brass can- 
non, then under the shed of the stable near the Hancock House. 
There was a great commotion upon the streets, and to this day the 
writer believes that the influence of Governors Powell and Dixon, 
prevented what otherwise might have been a serious affair in the city. 
While passing down Main Street from the armory to where the can- 
non was. Captain Starling was halted by a deputy sheriff, (who prior to 
that time, had been loud mouthed in his denunciation of the Frank- 
fort order), and notified that he was a prisoner under a warrant 
issued by Judge L. W. Trafton. The following is a copy of the war- 
rant : 

" The Commonwealth of Kentucky, to the Sheriff of Henderson Countij : 

You are commanded to arrest Captain E. L. Starling, and bring him before 
the Judge of the Henderson County Court, on the thirtieth day of September, 
1861, at the Court House, in the City of Henderson, to show cause why he 
shall not give security to the County of Henderson, to indemnify said county 
from loss on account of the State arms, etc, now in possession of said Starling, 
and which arms, etc. were formerly in possession of a company of State 
guards in Henderson County, called the ' Hendeison Guards,' and make due 
return of this writ. 

" Witness my hand, as Judge of the Henderson County Court, this twenty- 
fifth day of September, 1861. L. W. TRAFTON, J. H. C. C " 

A graceful surrender was made to the overjoyed Deputy Sheriff, 
and a quiet walk with him into the august presence of his honor, the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 205 

Judge, who was found in a brick office, located in the Turner block of 
one-story brick buildings on the east side of Main Street, writing at 
his table, aided by the flickering light of a tallow candle. " Here's 
your man," remarked the enraged deputy. . " Well, sir," said he, " It 
is for you to see that he reports on the thirtieth." ''Well, Judge," 
said the Captain, "What is it you wish me to do ?" " Well, sir," 
said he, " You must give security to the county for the arms you have 
seized, or else go to jail." '* But, if your honor please, I have not 
seized the arms ; I have received them by order of the State Military 
Board." " No matter by whose order you have received or taken 
them, you understand my ultimatum." " Certainly, I do ; but permit 
me to make one single remark, Judge, and that is this: The arms 
are in my possession, as an officer and agent of the State, and by au- 
thority of the highest military power in the State. I intend to hold 
them without giving bond or going to jail ; furthermore, a few more 
capers like this on your part, and that of your henchman, whom you 
denominate Deputy Sheriff, will insure your arrest, and a free passage 
up the placid Ohio. A word to the wise, etc. With this the Cap- 
tain walked out, and has never heard from the Judge or deputy con- 
cerning the warrant from that night. It seems that the canon and its 
guards were closely watched, for about midnight, while the two guards 
had stepped away for a moment only, a lick was heard, and in hastily 
returning, a man was seen to retreat from the cannon ; nothing was 
thought of it at the time, but upon close examination, it was found 
that the cannon had been spiked, but, not enough so to damage it, for 
next morning the piece of file broken off an inch above the touch-hole, 
was easily pulled out by Mr. V. M, Mayer, soldier and gun-smith. 
During the night and a part of the next day, the guns and accoutri- 
ments were all securely boxed up and they, with the cannon, taken to 
the wharfboat, where they were taken aboard of a steamer and a few 
hours afterwards safely stored away in Evansville, amidst the wildest 
excitement and congratulations of the young militia of that place. 

In addition to the Home Guard and State Guard companies 
spoken of, there was also a cavalry company of sixty-five men, organ- 
ized on the twenty-fifth day of August, 1860. The officers of this com- 
mand were John S. Norris, Captain ; Samuel W. Elam, First Lieuten- 
ant ; S. S. Hicks, Second Lieutenant; John R. White, Third Lieuten- 
ant, and George W. White, Orderly Sergeant. 



206 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

This company was completely equipped with cavalry outfit by the 
State, consisting" of pistols, sabers, etc. Four clays after the State 
Board had ordered in the arms of the State Guard company, Captain 
Starling, yet at Spotlsville, received a second order, directing him to 
take possession of the arms of the State Guard cavalry company. In 
obedience to this order he came to Henderson and found the arms 
stored away in the building now owned by John Reichert, and with 
the assistance of Captain Norris — who readily consented to surrender 
them up — and several others, soon had the arms boxed up, and en- 
route to the wharfboat for shipment to Evansville. This, then, was 
the end of the two State Guard companies as State organizations. In 
October, the command at Spottsville, then under Captain Holloway, 
was relieved by federal soldiers, and then returned to Henderson 
where they were soon after disbanded. 

In the sketch of Colonel James H. Holloway's life, will be found 
a statement showing how companies '' A and B," of the Home 
Guards, received their arms. 

The writer regrets that it is not in his power to give a full list of 
the soldiery at that time, among those remembered as doing faithful 
service are. Judge P. H. Hillyer, D. N. Walden, W. H. Lewis, W. S. 
Johnson, Jacob Held, Jr., Charlie Grieks, Harvey Yeaman, Charles 
T. Starling, John C. Stapp, Fred. Held, Lou. Zeller,Dr. R. A Armis- 
tead. David P. Lockett. 

On the second day- of May of this year. Uncle Johnny Upp, one 
of the pioneers, and who was taken by the Indians opposite this city, 
marched to Chillicothe, Ohio, and heroically endured the privations 
and hardships of Indian captivity, departed this life. In the fall. 
General N. B. Forrest took possession of Hopkinsville, and such a 
skeedaddling of Union men had never been known up to that time. 
One hundred and fifty or two hundred of them gave up their homes, 
and, on foot, began the journey to Henderson, mostly through' the 
woods and corn-fields of the intervening country. Among that num- 
ber was general B. H. Bristow, who, in after life, " barely escaped " 
receiving the Republican nomination for the presidency of this great 
country. This hungry, hard looking army of Union refugees came 
into Henderson about five o'clock in the morning, and it has ever 
been an unsettled question which was the worst frightened — the women 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNp^, KY. 207 

and children of Henderson, or the Hopkinsville braves. Captain 
Holloway ordered his company out for the purpose of giving them a 
warm reception, but finding they were refugees, fleeing from, and not 
seeking a scrimmage^ extended Ifiiem a hearty welcome. They were 
soon safely and comfortably quartered in the Elam & McClain fac- 
tory, on. Second Street. A story told by one of the party, will suffice 
to give an idea of the frightful ordeal the refugees underwent in 
making the trip from their homes to Henderson. It was a rule the 
Pilgrims adopted, never to camp at night near the road-side, but to 
find a place a good ways off, for an exposed position they argued 
would furnish too much fun for General Forrest, whom they believed 
had forsaken all else, and was directing his whole attention particu- 
larly to their capture. 

Upon' a certain night they had selected the center of a large field 
of corn in Webster County, in which to camp, and about midnight, 
when all was quiet, the sentinels gave the alarm that Forrest was ap- 
proaching. In the shortest possible time, the whole camp was up and 
fleeing in opposite directions, every fellow for himself, leaving their 
camp equipage, including extra coats and pants, to the mercy of the 
enemy. In a short time they were humilated to find that they had 
surrendered their camp to a flock of sheep, which had found a gap in 
the division fence, and were rushing pell mell through the dry corn. 
During the aight they were gathered together again, but it was never 
known how many were missing. It is an actual fact, said the 
narrator, " We believed we heard the bugle call, and the rattle of 
sabers coming down through the corn, when really, it was nothing 
more than that flock of sheep." Generarjames M. Shackelford, now 
a citizen of Evans\ille, was in Henderson at the time, perfecting his 
arrangements looking to the organization of a regiment of Union sol- 
diers. He and General Bristow effected a union of forces, and next day 
the refugees were removed to the Indiana side of the river for a greater 
protection, where military headquarters were then and there estab- 
lished. On the tenth of October, the command having attained a safe 
strength, and having been furnished with arms, General Shackelford 
took possession of the fair grounds, near Henderson, at which place 
he established a recruiting camp. During this month and the month 
of November, Ashbyburg, in Webster County, on Green River, was 
strongly fortified by Shackelford's command, and frequent marches 
were made through the country, extending at times to Madisonville. 



208 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The early part of October, the City of Henderson was occupied by 
the Thirty-second Indiana Regiment, Federal troops, under command 
of Colonel Charles Cruft, of Terre Haute, Indiana, and a German 
battery of six six-pounder brass pieces. 



V* 



CHAPTER XXI. 



NAVIGATION OF THE OHIO PLACED UNDER MILITARY CONTROL— CON- 
TRABANDING — BATTLE OF FORT DONELSON— JOHN \^^. FOSTER 

TAKES POSSESSION OF THE TOWN GUN BOATS 

APPEAR JIM. POOLE KILLED — MEM- 
ORIES OF THE WAR, ETC. 1862. 

ON the twenty-fourth day of January the river was higher than it 
had ever been known since 1847— it stood fifty-seven feet four 
inches at Cincinnati. January 17, gold was commanding 7 to 8 
per cent, premium, and forty days afterwards it had risen to 20. 
The navigation of the Ohio River, by order of General Buell, was 
placed under the supervision of the Government. Boats were allowed 
to land only at certain points specified ; all passengers were required 
to hold passes from the Federal authorities, and all freight was al- 
lowed to go forward only under a permit. 

Contrabanding was carried on to a large extent, but mostly by 
those who professed loyalty to the government. It was no uncom- 
mon occurrence any day, to see trains of wagons on the road between 
Henderson and Clarksville, Tennessee, ladened with groceries, drugs 
and munitions of war for the Confederated South. 

Quinine and amunition was smuggled in every way. June 1, 
General Jerry T Boyle was appointed Military Commandant of Ken- 
tucky, with headquarters at Louisville, and soon inaugurated a system 
of military arrests and imprisonment in the military prisons of that 
city and elsewhere. Many citizens of Henderson and Henderson 
County were seized for some alleged disloyalty and incarcerated in 

14 



210 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

his dirty prison houses. Fortunately many of the best and leading 
men of Henderson were ardent supporters of the Union, and enjoyed 
the confidence of the Government, and, through their influence, military 
arrests were not so frequent as at other places, nor were the confine- 
ment days of those arrested prolonged if their union friends could pre- 
vent it. 

'* BATTLE YEAR." 

This was the great battle year, and many men from Henderson 
had enlisted in both armies. On the fourteenth and fifteenth days of 
February the desperate battle of Fort Donelson was fought, and in 
this battle were many from Henderson. There was a full company 
of Confederates, and, perhaps, as many Federals, from Henderson en- 
gaged in that conflict. There were two brothers from Henderson, 
one serving in the ranks of the Confederacy and one in the ranks of the 
Union, again there were three brothers in the same battle, one in the 
Confederate and two in the Union army. There were classmates, and 
former bosom friends arrayed against each other, and this made those 
wicked days more sad and terrible to comtemplate. Henderson of 
course was aroused, and on Thursday afternoon, when the great guns 
of the Confederate water batteries and the mortars on board of the 
Federal gunboats were engaging each other in a frightful artillery duel, 
the thundering roar was distinctly heard in this county, though per- 
haps an hundred miles. away. The intense uneasiness manifested by 
relatives and friends at home concerning those engaged at Donelson 
was not relieved until the news of the battle and surrender had been 
received. Cyrus Steele, of the Twenty-fifth Kentucky Federal, who 
fought opposite to his brother, Ollie, of the Confederates, was mor- 
tally wounded and died a short time afterwards. Lieutenant John G. 
Holloway, Jr., was badly wounded in the hand. 

1863. 
At the meeting of the 1862-63 terms of the General Assembly, 
an act was approved, apportioning the State into nine Congressional 
Districts. District No. 2 was composed of Christian, Hopkins, Da- 
viess, Muhlenburg, Henderson^ McLean, Ohio, Hancock, Breckenridge, 
Grayson, Butler and Edmondson, 

JUDGE MILTON YOUNG, 

One of the noblest men of his day, died of heart disease, on the 
train, between Louisville and Frankfort, while en route to represent 
Henderson County in the General Assembly of the State. Hender- 
son was now occupied by Federal troops, under the command of Colo- 
nel John W. Foster. The Sixty-fifth Indiana Mounted Infantry, un- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 211 

der command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Johnson, was stationed 
in what was then known as Alves's Grove, now one of the prettiest 
improved portions of the city. This regiment was engaged scouting 
and campaigning through this an*d adjoining counties, and oftentimes 
came in contact with the regular Confederates and guerrillas. During its 
term of service, many Confederate soldiers voluntarily surrendered and 
took the oath of allegiance, while many more were captured and many 
killed. Hosts of political prisoners were arrested and confined in the 
Court House — Foster's military prison. Terms of surrender were 
made easy, and very many soldiers, and others who were suspected of 
being soldiers, took advantage of the opportunity to make friends with 
the Government. Horses were captured and stolen in large numbers 
and sold on the streets afterwards. Money was reriuired of manv men 
who surrendered, and there are a number of knowin": ones who char^^e 
openly, that the Commandant of the Post, Colonel Foster, pocketed 
the bulk of the proceeds, as perquisites of his office. Colonel Foster 
was, by no means, popular with those who differed with him politically, 
yet it was an acknowledged fact, that he was keen-witted in all he un- 
dertook, and a most excellent executive officer. 

On the twenty-sixth day of April, Jeptha M. Dodd, former editor 
of the Reporter, and Postmaster under Buchanan's administration 
with thirty-four others, was sent to Camp Chase, in Ohio, upon the 
charge of having been Confederate soldiers. During that time. Colo- 
nel Foster generally had in his prison from twenty-five to fortv pris- 
oners all the while, some of whom he would cause to be released 
when all doubt in his mind was removed, but most generally sent them 
on for further examination. The prison would hardly be emptied be- 
fore there were others brought in to take their places.. 

Foster's negro order. 

May 20, Foster issued his first order concerning the negro race. 
It was as follows : 

^•* All negroes coming into the district of Western Kentucky from States 
south of Tennessee, and all negroes who have been employed in the service 
of rebels in arms, are declared captives of war. It is ordered by the com- 
manding general that all such negroes in the Counties of Hancock, Daviess, 
McLean, Henderson, Union, Crittenden, Livingston, Lyon, Caldwell, Webster 
and Hopkins be collected at Henderson and furnished quarters and subsis- 
tence. Chaplain James F. St. Clair, Sixty-fifth Regiment, is charged with the 
execution of this order." 

In May, orders were issued from the VVar Department, authoriz- 
ing General Boyle and the Governor to recruit men for the Federal 
service. The terms offered recruits were exceeding liberal, and as a 



212 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

consequence, many Kentuckians enlisted. During that month a com- 
pany of horse thieves passed through the county, claiming to hold au- 
thority from the Federal Government for pressing horses for service in 
Gen. Rosencranz' Army. Many horses were taken, and bogus vouchers 
given. June 18, the following order was issued from Post Headquar. 
ters : " Merchants and other persons in this city, who shall sell goods 
'or commodities of any description whatever, to the amount of ten dol- 
lars, without obtaining a permit for the same from the Provost Mar- 
shal, shall forfeit the same and be held under arrest. 

This order was rigidly enforced, and those who now read it, may 
judge of the annoyance and vexations merchants in those days had to 
undergo. Each county was expected to furnish its quota of men for 
military service, and if they declined to volunteer, then the required 
number had to be made up by what was known as the draft. July 14, 
the enrollment of Henderson County was completed by C. M. Pen- 
nell, and the county divided into two Militia Districts. The divid- 
ing line commenced at the intersection of Water and Second Streets, 
ran out to Canoe Creek, thence with that creek to the Knoblick Road, 
thence with said road to Webster County. The names of the en- 
rolled were to be placed in a wheel and tickets drawn therefrom, un- 
til the quota was made up. Whenever a name was drawn, the per- 
son answering to that name was drafted, and could furnish a substi- 
tute, escape to Canada or the South, join the army and serve in the 
hospital, or fight, just as he should elect — but one or the other had to 
be done. 

Owensboro was the headquarters of the conscript fathers, or draft 
officers, and during that time the town was literally overrun with men 
afflicted in more ways than bad ever been known to the medical pro- 
fession before, or has ever been known since. 

Many Henderson County men were drafted, but none ever did 
service. Some furnished substitutes, while others could not be found. 
To make a long story short, it was perhaps the most exciting and un- 
easy time ever witnessed in this section of the State. 

At the August election this year, Henderson Precinct polled only 
one hundred and eighty-two votes. The polls were controlled by the 
soldiery, and most men preferred to relinquish the right of suffrage, 
rather than submit to the dictates of an insolent, ignorant set of men, 
who were moved and governed by sharpers of the dominant party. 

August 30, the remain's of Captain James A. McClain, one of the 
most gallant and noble young men of the age, who was drowned near 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 213 

Buffington Island, in the Ohio River, while endeavoring to escape 
with others of Morgan's command, were received in Henderson and 
buried. * 

1864. 

This eventful year was ushered in with " the cold Friday," which 
is still remembered by the inhabitants of the Ohio Valley country. 
It was said that the first day of January, 1864, made its appearance 
under conditions identical with those of " cold Friday." The mercury 
on the afternoon of December, 1863, stood 45°. A snow storm fol- 
lowed during the night, and -^-radually subsided as the cold wind in- 
creased, blowing a hurricane from the west, and on the morning of 
the first of January, the volume of cold had sent the mercury, in the 
open air, from 45° above zero, to more than 20° below. During this 
winter, coal sold at twenty-five cents per bushel, and was not abund- 
ant at that price. 

In addition to Foster's Regiment, Major Shook and Lieutenant 
Yarber, with their little cavalry commands, were stationed on Court 
Hill. This annoyance, to say nothing of the filth, associated with 
it, induced County Clerk Y. E. Allison, to remove the county records 
to the second story of the brick adjoining Vogel's confectionary, on 
the southwest corner of Main and Third Streets. During the summer 
Colonel Foster converted the Public Square into a horse pound, where 
he had stables erected sufficient to accommodate several hundred 
head of horses. 

August 4, the first negro troops landed at the town. 

About four o'clock Saturday morning, April 11, an incendiary 
stole the key to room No. 22, of the Hord House, then the Hancock 
House, kept by William P. Fisher, and set fire to the bedding in the 
room. The devouring element commenced its work, and gathered 
strength in volume as it raged on, until near daybreak, having burned 
through the floor into room No. 5. Mrs. Hancock, wdio was occupy- 
ing an adjoining room, came near being suffocated. The fire was dis- 
covered by Marshal W. W. Catlin, and through the heroic efforts of 
him and others, the flames were extinguished. 

During this month negro thieves were numerous, and frequently 
forced the slaves to the opposite side of the river. 

" GUNBOATS APPEAR." 

On the ninth day of April, while the tobacco stemmeries were 
working a full fo ;ce of colored hands, five gunboats and one trans- 
port steamer, anchored in front of the city. The colored people were 



214 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

soon apprised of it, and were fearfully alarmed, lest they were to be 
pressed into military service and carried away. As a general thing 
they were averse to going. . Many appealed to their owners and em- 
ployers, as to what they should do, and were told to do as they pleased. 
On this advice they scattered, many of them taking to the woods. 
Hundreds of them were seen stalking rapidly through the hot sun, in 
the endeavor to avoid being forced away from kind masters and good 
homes, to imperil their lives for a cause they knew but little of, and 
cared less. 

Seeing the gunboats, and knowing of the villainy of one Col- 
onel Cunningham, in his piratical negro-stealing expedition into Union 
County onlv a few weeks before, slave owners were forced to the un- 
pleasant conviction that force was to be used by ihe government 
to rob and plunder them. I'he commander of the fleet *on landing 
was informed of ihetfue state of affairs, whereupon he addressed 
the follo\vin2^ commj.niication to the Mayor of the city : 

'• U. S Gunboat 'Moose.' Henderson, Ky., June 9 IS64. 
'' There seems to be a general impression that the gunboats are cruising 
up and clown the river running off negroes and the like, consequently when a 
gunboat m;ikes hor appearance, all the citizens aie thrown into a state oT ex- 
citement and run their negroes back into the country. I would inform the peo- 
ple that the gunbo.its are on no .such mission, nor will any vessel or officer un- 
der my command toucli, intcrlere with , or molest the per.sons or property of 
peace ul citizens in any way whatever. 1 trust, in future, this fear and ex- 
citement will be dispelled, for I can assure you, that on the part of the navy, 
you need have no fear of molestation, so long as you remain loyal to the Gov- 
ermncnt of the United States. 

L?:R0Y fitch. Lieutenant Commander, 
Commanding the Tenth District Mississippi Squadron. 

mayor's RESPONSE. 

" Henderson, June 9, 18'34. 
•* Leioy Fitch, Ueutenant Commander, etc: 

•' Sir — 1 have received yours of this date, and think the assurances it con- 
tains will have a most happy effect in this community. 

" Very Respectfully, D. BANKS, Mayor." 

" REBEL SOLDIERY ENTER THE CITY." 

The following from the Henderson "News," of June 21, fur- 
nishes another evidence of the afflictions Henderson was heir to : 

" On last Saturday night. June 18, about eleven o'clock, a force of twen- 
ty-five mounted rebels, under command of Captain January, entered the city 
and proceeded to the store of G, A. Mayer, Son's, and demanded an en- 
trance. Mr. G. A. Mayer, who resides over the store, knowing resistance to 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 215 

be useless, sent down the key by his Httle daughter. The rebels then entered 
the store and appropriated eight shotguns and a lot of spurs, pocket-knives, 
cartridges, etc. After satisfying themselves with plunder, they went to Khlon- 
in^^er's grocery and obtained food, liquor, etc , and then departed from the 
city. During their stay, three of the number proceeded on foot, to the Union 
House, northeast side.of Second, between Main and Water Streets, and kept 
by Martin Schneider There was no one in the bar i-oom, save Mr. Schneider, 
his barkeeper and Colonel Jim. Poole, of the Kentucky Militia Two of the 
three invaders stationed themselves on each side of Poole and one behind him. 
Poole was at the bar drinking and laughing. One of the rebels coolly asked 
him if he was Colonel Jim. Poole, to which he answered, " I am'" Then, 
sir, said his interrogator, " You are my prisoner." Poole stepped back against 
the counter, and drawmg his revolver, answered, "I reckon not." Almost 
immediately three shots we.e fired. Pool's pistol did not explode the first time, 
and one minute had hardly expired, ere from nine to twelve shots were rap- 
idly exchano-ed. The three rebels then hastily reti-eated. Poole advancing un- 
til near the door, when he sunk on one knee. Mr. Schneider ran forward and 
caught him in his arms, asked: " JhTi., are you killed.?" Poole answered, " I 

believe so they have got me this time" — and immediately expired. Next 

morning Coroner John C. Stapp held an inquest." 

Henderson News, July 12: " On last Wednesday evening, July 6, about 
6:30 o'clock, a gang of twenty-one or twenty-two guerrillas invaded the city, 
and the following is a list of their heroic ' military necessity ' exploits. 
On inoffensive non-combattants, watches, rings, &c. from Wm. Steele. I300 00 

Goods stolen from D. Hart's store - i.S 00 

s' " " P Hoffman's store 450 

" «' " Bernard Baum's store ,. 1500 

" «' " N. Heyman's store 3000 

" '* '■ N. Schlesenger's store 28 00 

«' " " F. Morris & Co., stoi-e 1500 



Total *'407 ."^o 

"In addition to the above, these delectable warriors went to the packet 
steamer General Hallock, and the clerk bemg absent, removed the iron safe 
out of the office into the cabin, and attempted to break it open. The clerk re- 
turned, and opened it for them, when they secured a roll of greenbacks and 
made off. A gunboat hove in sight, and the chivalrous jewelry thieves scam- 
pered away in a hurry. The whole posse forced themselves that n'ght on 
Mr. John Hicks, seven miles from town, where they behaved in a most dis- 
graceful manner. 

"CAPTAIN DICK YATES." 

"On Saturday July 7, Captain Dick Yates, with a rebel force, paid a visit 
to the farm of Esq. John E. McCallister, six and one-half miles from the 
city, and demanded three of his horses, one being a fine favorite stallion. Mr. 
McCallister declined giving up his property, and seized his double-ban-el shot- 
gun. Tavo of the party threw themselves upon him in order to wrench the 



216 HISTORY OF. HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

gun from liis hands. In the scuffle Mr. McCalHster was thrown violentl , his 
body striking on the stock of his gun breaking two of his ribs. 

" They then tied hini in bed where he remained until the arrival of his sis- 
ter, Mrs Ben Talbott, in the night, when at the peril of her own life, she un- 
tied the ropes which bound her brother." 

By this time Henderson County was completely overrun by guer- 
rilla bands; there were no Federal troops in the county, so of course, 
they were at liberty to do as they pleased. Over one-half of the dry 
goods held for sale in the city, were removed to Evansville, or Louis- 
ville, for safe keeping, and the following firms closed their houses : 
William S. Holloway & Co., James E Rankin, Morris & Co., H. 
Schlesinger, A. E. Gerhardt, B. Baum and J. C. Allen. All of the 
horses of any value were sent to Evansville for safe keeping. Hen- 
derson, commercially speaking, was as dead as a post, and one could 
walk six squares during the middle of the day without meeting, and, 
perhaps, without seeing a human. Of course this condition of affairs 
did not long exist, and was all brought about by the shooting of Mr. 
James E. Rankin, by guerrillas, and the subsequent shooting of two 
vouno[ men sent here froni Louisville — in retaliation. 

"On Friday, twenty-seventh, the News says : ' Eight guerillas captured 
the Ovvensboro and Henderson mail carrier at Hebardsville, broke open the 
mail sack, took what there was of value in it. and then helped themselves to 
what goods they wanted from the stores of that place. They crossed Green 
River at Calhoon's Ferrv, and when thr«e miles from Green River, they stop- 
ped Mr. W. C, Priest and robbed him of twelve dollars. They next plun- 
dered a grocery store nearby belonging to a Mr. Long. From this point a 
portion of the gang returned to Curdsville, where they robbed the citizens of 
two hundred and fifty dollars in money. At FJebardsville they robbed 
Messrs Trice & Hatchitt of five hundred dollars in greenbacks and a 
horse worth eighty dollars. On that same day twenty or more o^' another 
party passed through the lower edge of Henderson.'" 

On the morning of the twenty-seventh the large flouring and grist 
mill of Mr. James Hatchitt, near his residence on the Owensboro 
road, seven or eight miles out, was burned to the ground. There 
was a considerable amount of wheat in the building, and altogether 
the loss was estimated at twenty-five thousand dollars. On the same 
morning a frame cottage residence at the lower end of Main street, 
and near the Catholic Cemetery, occupied by Major William R. Kin- 
ney, was set fire to by an incendiary and burned. 

Thursday, August 4, Major Walker Taylor and Adjutant Chinn, 
of Colonel Lee Sypert's command, came into the city bearing a flag 
of truce, which they displayed from the rear end of Clark's factory 
to the gunboat " Brilliant," then commanded by Captain Charles G. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 217 

Perkins, and lying in the Ohio immediately in front of the city. Cap- 
tain Perkins sent out a boat, and in a short time the two rebel officers 
were ushered into the Captain^s headquarters. A consultation was 
held and protracted' until Friday evening, when the two officers, ac- 
companied by Lieutenant Herron, of the "Brilliant," were ordered 
by Captain Perkins to report to Lieutenant Commander Fitch, then 
lying off the Port of Evansville. 

The true intent of this meeting was not known outside of the 
immediate circle interested. 

On Friday evening, about seven o'clock, the whole town was 
thrown into an intense state of excitement by the arrival and disem- 
barkation of one hundred and sixty negro soldiers, commanded by 
white officers. Such a sight had never been witnessed before, and 
not knowing the object of their visit, or apprehending their approach, 
every citizen was more or less alarmed- These troops took posses- 
sion of the Court House. Apprehension of an early attack from 
the rebels was entertained by every one, and on short notice the ar- 
chives of both clerks' offices were removed from the building. At 
ten o'clock next morning all of the drays and wagons of the city 
were pressed into service to remove the plunder, including picks and 
shovels, from the Court House, to a high^ and isolated bluff on the 
river bank, directly in front of the present bridge office, at the inter- 
section of Water and Fourth Streets. The soldiers were provided 
with picks and shovels and set to work throwing up earth works and 
fortifying the bluff against any attack from the rebels. Here they 
were engaged until the evening when the officer in command received 
orders from Louisville to evacuate and proceed to Owensboro. The 
steamer " Echo," coming up, w^as made to land and take aboard this 
sable command and their picks and shovels. It is due to say, that 
the officers and men of this command were more pleased with the 
order removing them, than were the citizens, for it was generally be- 
lieved that an attack would have been made by a large force that 
night, and, perhaps, half of the colored troops slaughtered. 

It was said, and subsequent history affirmed the belief, that Gov- 
ernor Dixon, Mayor Banks, and Mr. W. B. Woodruff were instru- 
mental in having these troops removed. So certain was it that an 
attack was to be made Saturday night, very many of the citizens had 
left for the country during the day. Judge Y. E. Allison notified the 
public that he had removed the county records to the " City Bank " 
building, on Main Street, then standing where Johnson's barber shop 
is now located. 



218 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The steamer " Echo," which came up the river and carried away 
the colored troops, had on board the following gentlemen, who had 
been seized by the Federal military as hostages for some Union men 
who had been captured by the guerillas . Caswell D. Bennett, after- 
wards Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of this district, and 
Judge William P. Fowler, Judge of this Judicial Circuit during the 
war. 

The regular election for sheriff was held on the first day of Au- 
gust. The vote of Henderson District amounted to only five hun 
dred and eighty-five votes, distributed as follows : William G. Nor- 
ment, one hundred and twelve; Henry C. Kerr, one hundred and 
eighty-one, and William S. Hicks, two hundred and ninety-two. This 
was the first fair election held for some time, but nevertheless there 
was a very small vote polled. 

About this time the Reporter suspended publication, as a sort of 
military necessity. 

On Saturday, the thirteenth, Colonel Adam R. Johnson with 
his command arrived within three miles of the city, and great fear 
was entertained lest he would come in and the citizens be the losers 
thereby, for the gunboat " Brilliant " was lying directly in front, an- 
chored broadside, with her guns bearing upon the defenseless place. 
A committee of citizens waited upon Captain Perkins, of the " Bril- 
liant," to ascertain if it was his design to fire upon the city. Captain 
Perkins stated that he had no desire to imperil the city by fire, and 
thereby render houseless the women, children and non-combatants, 
but that he had imperative orders to fire upon it if it was occupied 
by rebel troops. The committee then went forthwith to see Colonel 
Adam R. Johnson, but he was absent from his camp. A communi- 
cation was left, and on Monday morning the following reply was re- 
ceived : 

*' HEADqUARTERS Dep't. SOUTHERN Ky.J 

August 13, 1864. \ 
'•To the Citizens of Henderson, Ky.: 

'* I am just in receipt of a communication to the effect that the Federal 
commander of the gunboat had notified the citizens of Henderson ' if any ot 
my men came into Henderson that he would shell the town,' and requesting 
me not to send any of my command to town. This request I cannot comply 
with. So long as Henderson remains ungarrisoned I shall send my men into 
the town whenever I deem the interest of the Government requires it. The 
shelling by the Federal commander will be uncalled for, unless an attack be 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 219 

made upon the gunboat. Whenever depredations are committed by men un- 
der my authority you may rest assured I shall have them severely punished. 

:«. " Respectfully, 

A.R.JOHNSON. 
Colonel Comm'g. C. S. forces Southern Ky. 

'* P. S. — I do not expect to occupy the place or use it as a garrison. 

"A. R.J " 

Colonel Johnson did not come into Henderson, but on that 
morning sent in a flag of triice, carried by Officer Thomas Watson, of 
Henderson County, who held a consultation with Captain Perkins and 
Lieutenant Little, of the " Brilliant,'^ at the Hancock House, in ref- 
erence to two of the robbers who were with the invading party at 
the time Mr. James E. Rankin was shot. Colonel Johnson had cap- 
tured these two men, calling themselves Captain R. Yates and Cap- 
tain Jones, and now offered to surrender them to the civil authorities. 
They were subsequently surrendered to D. N. Walden, Sheriff of 
Henderson County, who took them before Judge C. W. Hutchen, who 
opened his court to give them a preliminary hearing upon the charge 
of robbery and also as accessories to the shooting of Mr. Rankin. 
Captain Perkins, in command of ten marines, came into court and 
demanded the men in the name of the United States, when Judge 
Hutchen very good naturedly complied by directing the sheriff to 
turn them over. The men were then marched to the river in charge 
of the marines and taken aboard of the gunboat. A few days after- 
wards Captain Perkins forwarded them to headquarters at Louisville 
where they were imprisoned and subsequently shot. 

The News of August 16 said: 

'■ Our city is nearly depopulated, particularly ot the young men sub- 
ject to conscription or draft. As for ourself, we intend to remain until the 
last day of grace, believing that prudent council and patient endeavor can yet 
save Henderson from the flames," 

'* Colonel Adam R.Johnson's conscript order was soon to be 

rigidly enforced, that is, it was so said ; and every man of conscript 

age who was unwilling to leave his home for the war in either army, 

was dodging around as best he could to avoid the conscript officers. 

COLONEL Johnson's proclamation. 

" Citizens of Kentucky : 

" The alternative IS now presented to you of entering either the Federal 
or Confederate army. 

*' All persons between the ages of seventeen and forty-five, who are not 
lawfully exempt, will be required to go into service at once. You must now 
see that after the sacrifice of all that freemen should hold dear, to avoid the 



220 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

evil and save our property, that tTie one has not been rendered secure, and you 
have not saved yourself from the other, even by the sacrifice of principle and 
honor. 

" Your country has been overrun by lawless bands, whose depredations are 
only equalled by the outrages of large bands of the Federal army, who neither 
feel nor have any respect for the submissionists, and you are plundered, robbed 
and murdered with impunity. How long do you intend this to continue ? To 
what depth of degradation and shame are you to be reduced before you will 
cut loose the bond of slavery and assert your rights as freemen ? Men of 
Kentuckv, are you willing to see your families reduced to the level of your 
slaves ? Mothers, can you realize an affiliation of your daughters with the 
African ? Young men, can you expect to have any claim to manhood ? Can 
you hope to share the smile or claim the love of the bright-eyed daughters of 
this famed land of beauty, while those gentle beings are subjected to the in 
suits of Yankee hirelings and negro troops ? If not, then speedily seize the 
only way to bring you true liberty and honor. Too long have you listened to 
trte siren song of the traitors of the country. Already too much has been sac- 
rificed to no advantage. Your only hope ot peace is in the success of the 
Southern armies. Not alone your liberties, but your lives, are involved in 
this issue. The moderate Union man, the Democrat of the North, as well as 
the Southern soldier, wall all owe their lives and liberties to this result. 

" I appeal to you again, as I did two years ago, to rally and strike a blow 
for the freedom of your country. 

•• COLONEL A. R. JOHNSON, 
"Commanding Confederate forces in Southern Kentucky." 

The whole country surrounding Henderson was in a tumult of. 
excitement, and intense anxiety was impressed upon every non-com- 
batant countenance. 

On the seventeenth Generals Hughes and Hovey, with six hun- 
dred of the Thirty-sixth and three hundred of General Willich's bri- 
gade, all re-enlisted Indiana soldiers, with four twelve-pounders, left 
Evansville for Union County to intercept the rebel chieftain, and, if 
possible, to drive him from the country. 

Arriving at Mt. Vernon, the command was reinforced by a large 
force of Warrick and Posey County Home Guards, with three more 
cannon. Most of these troops were finely mounted, many of them 
on horses, which had been sent to Evansville from Henderson for 
safe keeping, and, by the by, never returned to their owners. After 
marching through Union County, this body of wonderful troopers came 
into Henderson Saturday morning the dirtiest looking set that had 
been seen, bringing with them a perfect army of cattle which they 
had " captured,^^ several captured buggies and their drivers, a great 
many captured teams and their drivers, a number of horses, fifty-seven 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 221 

negroes^ two rebel prisoners, six or seven citizen prisoners and one 
wounded Home Guard as relics of the raid. The Generals fixed 
their headquarters at the Hancock House, while the soldiers took 
possession, with the cattle and Blher evidences of military ardor, of 
the public square. A number of these scattered over the city com- 
mitting petty thefts and otherwise insulting citizens. The horses 
(many of them owned in Henderson) were quartered at the various 
livery stables and fed, while the citizens, with their accustomed hos- 
pitality, invited the tired soldiers to dine at their tables. In the 
evening all of the soldiery, with the exception of one hundred vete- 
rans of the Thirty-sixth Indiana, left by steamers for Evansville. 
Those remaining took possession of the Court House. Next morning 
they were recalled to Evansville. 

Previous to their departure, however, Colonel Moon, with sixty 
corps d'Afrique^ arrived for the purpose of putting down the rebellion, 
but more especially to recruit the colored men. Moon and his lesser 
satellites took possession of the bluff on the river bank, which had 
been partially fortified by a previous company. Colonel Moon re- 
mained two days, and during the time forwarded to Owensboro one 
HUNDRED and NINETY-FOUR colorcd Hcndcrson recruits. 

By this time, Colonel Johnson's conscript program had been 
defeated, but the county had been relieved of one hundred and 
twenty-five or fifty thousand dollars worth of slave and other prop- 
erty. 

A party of guerrillas went to the residence of C. Sechtig, on the 
hill in the upper end of the city, and in his absence forced his wife to 
give up a shot-gun and other weapons offensive and defensive. 

The gunboat " Brilliant " let drop four or five shells in that im- 
mediate neighborhood, when the guerrillas retreated in great haste. 
While all of this military activity was being witnessed and sadly 
felt in the city, the county was not let alone, but was paying an undue 
penalty to marauding bands of guerrillas and furnishing its quota of 
stolen slaves to ruthless, unauthorized recruiting officers and thieves 
of the Federals. On September 2 a band of fifteen men entered 
the town of Spottsville and boarded the steamer " Cottage " while 
she lay in the lock. They plundered the boat and passengers of jew- 
elry, money and other valuables, and left with an estimated capture of 
twenty-five hundred dollars. 

RAID ON THE FARMERS' BANK. 

On Saturday morning, September 10, at 11 o'clock, twenty-one 
mounted desperadoes dashed into the City of Henderson and drove 



222 HISTORY OF HENDEFSON COUNTY, KY. 

directly to the Farmers' Bank, then located in the elegant brick now 
owned by the Presbyterian Church, on the corner of Second and Elm 
Streets. Ten of the number entered the building with drawn pis- 
tols and went behind the counter, taking Colonel Leonard H. Lyne, 
Cashier, completely by surprise. They demanded the funds of the 
bank, when Colonel Lyne told them they had been removed, but their 
leader said : " You know your duty — do it," whereupon five of the 
robbers entered the vault and five remained outside. Colonel Lyne 
went into the vault with the five, so as to preserve some valuable pa- 
pers. The robbers soon after came out laden with bags and parcels 
amounting to eight thousand four hundred and thirty dollars, all being 
on special deposit except the first item. The following statement is 
taken from the Henderson News of September 13 : 

Postal Currency, Property of the Bank $ 277 00 

John H. Lambert, gold and paper '. 3,000 00 

James T. Norment, greenbacks .• 2,000 00 

Larkin White, Kentucky money 1,735 00 

John E. M'Callister, greenbacks 600 00 

L. R. Kerr, in gold 328 00 

Hull Higginson, in gold 300 00 

Sol. S. Sizemore, in silver 90 00 

M. F. Galloway, greenbacks 200 00 

Total $8,430 00 

On leaving the Bank they visited various business houses and 
perpetrated the following robberies : 

From J. B. Tisserand, dry goods $150 00 

*' George L. Dixon, boots, etc 175 00 

" F. Millet, dry goods 50 00 

" William Wakefield 5 00 

*' HancockHouse 10 00 



Total. $390 00 

Having plundered to their hearts' content, they retired with their 
ill-gotten gain and the ill will of every citizen. Shortly after their de- 
parture, squads of men collected on the street, and many of them 
gave vent to their displeasure, in forcible language. The Court House 
bell was rung, and rich and poor, large and small, collected in the 
building, and every man and boy who could find a musket, shot-gun, 
or pistol, brought them forward. A meeting was organized, by call- 
ing Hon. Grant Gr^en to the chair, and Prof. Henry B. Parsons to 
do the duty of Secretary. A committee, consisting of the following 
•named gentleman, George M. Priest, George L. Dixon, Jesse Robin- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 223 

son, C. T. Sanderfur, Rev. Joel Lambert and Jenks W. Williams was ap- 
pointed to draft resolutions expressive of the feeling of the meeting. 
The following was reported : 

"Resolved, That a volunteer fofce be immediately called for, and organ- 
ized, to follow, for the purpose of kiUing and capturing the band of robbers 
who were in this citj this day, and that any citizen for that purpose, is directed 
to sieze and use such horses and arms as may be necessary — the same to be re- 
turned as soon as practicable, and further, that a meeting for the purpose of 
forming a "Home Guard" be called to assemble at this place on Monday eve- 
ning. GEO. M. PRIEST, Chairman." 

Hearing that the highwaymen were yet lingering on the outskirts 
of the city, all of the citizens who had arms organized themselves 
into an impromptu company and marched a mile and a half out, but 
the marauders were not to be found. The men returned and were 
dismissed, but reappeared at the Court House at seven o'clock, where 
a large concourse assembled, and one hundred registered their names 
in the police force. During the day the Mayor had convened the 
Common Council in special session, when the following resolution 
was offered and unanimously adopted by the following vote : Ladd, 
Jenkins, Held, Tunstall, Hart and Nunn. 

Whereas, Certain lawless bands having of late made sundry raids upon 
our city, and this day having fully demonstrated the importance of united ac- 
tion on the part of the citizens ; therefore, 

Resol ed. That every able-bodied white male citizen ot Henderson be or- 
dered and required to report himself in public meeting at the Court House on 
Monday, September 12, 1864, at four o'clock P. M,, for the purpose of organ- 
izing ourselves for our mutual protection. That the meeting appoint officers 
and adopt all such regulations as may be deemed necessary. That the citizens 
be required to close their business houses at lour o'clock that evening, and that 
every person refusing or neglecting to report, as above stated, sliall he ordered 
to leave the city forthwith, under the penalty to be adopted hereafter." 

In obedience to this resolution of the Council, His Honor, D. 
Banks, Mayor, caused the following proclamation to be issued and 
circulated through the city on Saturday afternoon : 

PROCLAMATION. 
"In pursuance of a proclamation adopted by the City Council on Satur- 
day, September 10, 1864, I hereby order every able-bodied white male citizen 
of Henderson, Ky., capable of bearing arms, to report himselt at the Court 
House on Monday, September 12, 1864, at four o'clock P. M., for the pur- 
pose of organizing for the city's protection. I also order the business houses 
to be closed at the hour of four o'clock on that evening ; and any person here- 
inbefore mentioned refusing or neglecting to report at the time and place 
stated above, will be ordered to leave the city forthwith under the penalties to 
be adopted hereafter. D. BANKS, Mayor." 



224 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

At the Saturday evening meeting of citizens, the Mayor's pro- 
clamation was adopted as the unanimous sentiment of the meeting. 
In order that the object of this meeting might not be misconstrued, 
President Grant Green addressed the assemblage to the following 
purport : 

" Citizens were recjuested to organize simply as a police force for mutual 
protection of life and property from the repeated inroads of strolling robbers^ 
It was not asked that they should participate in the unhappy war. We are all 
civilians and non-combatants in the mighty struggle going on in our beloved 
land, but we are law-abiding and capable of preserving our lives and our prop- 
erty from vagrant marauders and strolling bands of irresponsible scoundrels, 
come from what quarter they may. All citizens, rich and poor, old and 
young, are interested and invited to arm as best they can so as to be ready 
hereafter to prevent a recurrence of those black deeds of infamy which had 
darkened the fair name of Henderson abroad. One sentiment pervades our 
entire community — murder and robbery of our private citizens will no more 
be tolerated. 

''We solemnly warn armed robbers, whose only incentive is personal 
gain, whose only patriotism is self, to keep aloof from Henderson, We are 
resolved to be outraged no more.'' 

During the enrollment of men, Bernard Bibo, who had been a 
faithful soldier in the home guard service at the beginning of the war, 
and who had once more shouldered his gun in the defe'nse of his home, 
was lying on the green sward in front of the Court House, attempted 
to draw his gun toward him, when it exploded and emptied a full 
load of buckshot in the upper part of his arm, necessitating imme- 
diate amputation. This was performed by Dr. J. A. Hodge, assisted 
by Dr. Ben Letcher. As an evidence of Bibo's worth and the sym- 
pathy felt for him, a handsome subscription was made by the citizens 
and paid him. 

On Sunday night two companies of negro troops arrived and took 
possession of the Court House. This then superseded the necessity 
of any further effort at a citizen organization, and hence the initiatory 
steps toward that object were for the time laid by. 

On Sunday morning. Jack Coleman and Dan Byrnes, of Union 
County, sought out Mr. John B. Millet, of this city, who was visiting 
St. Vincent Chapel in Union County, and refunded to him what had 
been given to them as their share of the bank robbery, $225.75 each, 
expressing at the same time, their deep contrition for the robbery, 
and stated that they had no intention when entering Henderson, to 
engage in any such dirty business. On Monday morning a portion of 
this clan returned to the outskirts of the city and relieved C. A. Rudy 
of a very fine horse. On the twenty-fourth day of September, one 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 225 

hundred negro soldiers were sent to Corydon on a recruiting expedition, 
when returning were attacked by twenty rebels in ambush, and 
strange to say, very little, if any damage was done. Arriving at the 
cross-roads, or what -is now known as Geneva, one of the soldiers was 
discovered to be suffering with what was determined to be the small- 
pox, and left at a house near that place. 

The next day, or perhaps a few hours after their departure for 
Henderson, a party of rebels appeared upon the ground, secured the 
small-pox patient, and without the services of a clergyman, took him 
to the neighboring woods and there hung him. The sequel to this 
will be told in the after part of this brief history of the war. 

On Friday night three hundred rebels, under Major Sims and 
Captains Jones and Duvall, camped upon the farm of Ex-Sheriff, 
William S. Hicks, six miles out on the Knoblick Road, and the next 
morning one hundred and twenty-five of them came into Henderson. 
Dinner was prepared for them by order of the Commander in Charge 
at the Hancock House, which they ate while sitting in their saddles. 
Captain Jones ordered a few blankets from William Holloway & Co., 
but before they could pay for them, the gunboat, "Moose," hove to 
in front of the city, and the command fled to the woods. Commander 
Fitch sent a half dozen or more shells in the direction they went, but 
without unhorsing a man. 

October 25, Captain O. B. Steele had one, Hawkins, shot for 
robbing a Mr. Hicks near Corydon. On Sunday morning, November 
6, a party of rebels under the command of Jake Bennett, came into 
the city and fired a few shots at the negro soldiers who were on 
parade below and in front of the Hancock House. Dr. J. A. Hodge 
was met by one of this gang and relieved of a very fine watch. 

Since this gigantic and most unfortunate military struggle was 
first commenced, the citizens of Henderson, Union and Webster 
Counties had especially been made to feel the iron hoof of war upon 
their property and persons. It would fill a large volume printed in 
small type to tell of all the confiscations, pressings, military necessity, 
secret thefts, audacious robberies, and indiscriminate plunderings 
which were carried on in these counties during the dark and gloomy 
years of war. Both sides treated horses, saddles, arms and food from 
the beginning as public property. 



15 



/ 



CHAPTER XXII 



COLONEL GLENN AND HIS COLORED TROOPS —A DANCE AND DISGRACE- 
FUL PROCEDURE — HAM G. WILLIAMS ARRESTED — RESULTS 
OF THE WAR AT ITS CLOSE— 1865. 

SATURDAY, January 15, Captain Sam Allen, of the Kentucky 
State troops, encountered a squad of Major Walker Taylor's 
men a few miles from the city, killing two of the Piper boys and cap- 
turing another soldier by the name of Brown. 

Colonel Glenn, who was recruiting colored troops in the country, 
accompanied a Louisville police detective to the residence of Mr. 
Samuel Williams, three miles out in the country, where they arrested 
Ham G. Williams. This arrest comes among the interesting inci- 
dents in life. The Louisville detective had for a lona: time been in 
search of a character who had committed a crime in New York, for 
which he was wanted. A photograph likeness of him was secured, 
and with this likeness the detectives set to work to effect his capture. 
Ham Williams was somewhere seen by one of these secret service 
men and shadowed until located at his home in this county. It is 
said the picture was a correct likeness of him, and hence his arrest. 
The young man was brought to the city and in a short while released, 
because he had never even visited the State in which the crime 
was committed. He was amused at his arrest, while the detective 
was disgusted at the wonderful similarity of faces of men born and 
reared so many miles apart. 

A DISGRACEFUL PROCEDURE. 

On the evening of January 24, the young men of Henderson 
gave a charming dance in the dining room of the Hancock House, 



228 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

About twelve o'clock, when all who could were engaged in the beauti- 
ful turns of the waltz, the roar of musketry and the boom of cannon 
were heard coming from the direction of Court Hill. Soon after, bullets 
were whistling over the roof of the hotel, while others penetrated its 
walls and windows. This so alarmed the dancers that many of them, 
in fact all who could, congregated on the back porch seeking shelter 
behind the walls of the house. Some of the more gallant of the men 
rushed to the front to discover the cause, but soon rushed back to 
escape the flying bullets. This firing was kept up for ten minutes or 
more, when it ceased, and then it was told around that guerrillas were 
in the city, but the truth was, the young men had refused to invite 
Col. John Glenn and his Captains and Lieutenants, commanding the 
negro troops, then quartered in the Court House and on the hill. 
This disgraceful proceeding on the part of the soldiery so enraged 
the union men of the town, that Col. Glenn's subsequent residence in 
Henderson was anything but pleasant to him. During the attack on 
the hotel no one was injured but Glenn, he was shot in the neck, 
after ten or more attacks upon the bar room, and fell gloriously shout- 
ing with his martial cloak around him. Jt was no uncommon thing 
during those trying times for a citizen to be awakened in the dead 
howr of the night by bullets whistling through their windows, breaking 
glass and tearing plastering in their reckless course. No citizen felt 
safe either upon the streets after twilight or in his residence. As a 
general thing, a more unmitigated unscrupulous set of ruffians and 
uncultured scamps were never known to disgrace a Federal uniform. 
On the seventh day of February a great number of country gentlemen 
came to town, some on business and some to hear the news. During 
the forenoon this same Col. Glenn, under the pretense of driving off 
a band of guerillas of whom he claimed to have knowledge, ostensibly 
for the purpose of driving the colored men off of several adjoining 
farms into his camp, sent out a company of soldiers and pressed every 
horse to be found in the town. In a very short time afterwards the 
streets were filled with soldiers galloping here and there on citizens' 
horses, cursing and threatening at a most furious rate. On the ninth 
day of February Captain Ollie Steele came to the fair grounds with 
thirty men, and was pursued by Captain Sam Allen, of the State 
troops, a few hundred yards below where the greater part of his men 
laid in ambush waiting for Allen to pass by. Below this place they 
had built a fence across the road where Allen was forced to halt, then 
taking him in the rear, they held him at a serious discount, and before 
he could extricate himself, Steele's men had captured seven of his 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 229 

men, and had the others fleeing in every possible direction. February 
28, an act of the Legislature was approved, authorizing the County 
Court to employ fifty men as a poJice patrol and guard, for protection 
against guerrillas and outlaws, and to levy an ad valorum tax for 
their payment. If this law was complied with the records fail to show 
it. March 1, a new majesterial and voting precinct was established, 
to-wit : 

'• That all that part of Henderson County embraced within the following 
boundary, viz: Beginning at the White Lick on Highland Creek, thence 
down the said creek to the bridge near Todisman farm, thence on a straight 
line to the Beaver Dam bridcre on the Madisonville and Mt. Vernon Road, thence 
on a straight line to Mrs Sarah Brooks', including her farm, thence east to 
the line of the Henderson & Nashville Railroad, thence with the said railroad 
to the line between Henderson and Webster Counties, and thence to the 
beginning, be and the same is laid off and constituted a district for the election 
of Magistrates, and a voting precinct. The voting place to be at Mrs. P. C. 
Sutton's, and the election to be held May following, for two Magistrates and 
one Constable. " 

On the second day of March, a portable engine engaged in driv- 
ing a saw mill upon the farm of Governor Archibald Dixon, two and 
one-half miles above the city, exploded its boiler, killing Alex. Dor" 
sett and a negro boy, throwing Joseph C. Dixon with great violence 
some twenty-live yards, scalding his face, and badly scalding and 
otherwise injuring and wounding Robert A. Alves. 

March 3, Elder William Steele's residence was enter-^.d under the 
the pretense of looking for Captain O. B. Steele, and robbed of every 
valuable to be found in it by Captain Partridge, a military incompe- 
tent, and a company of negro soldiers of Col. Glenn's regiment. 
During this month an act was passed by the Legislature and approved 
by the Governor, incorporating the *' Henderson Petroleum, Mining 
and Manufacturing Company," composed of Richard Stites, William 
A. Hopkins, Charles F. Hopkins, James B. Lyne and James H. Hoi" 
loway, with power to open salt and oil wells, and coal, iron and other 
mineral mines in the counties of Henderson, Webster and Union, and 
any other parts of the State where they might acquire territory. If 
this company ever struck oil, they have steadfastly kept that greasy 
fact a secret. At this time the oil craze had absolutely seized the 
State, numerous borings were started in Henderson and Union, and 
so far as is now known a S7nell was secured once or twice, but 
never enough oil to grease the spindles of a bicycle. 

A BRUTAL OUTRAGE. 

On Sunday afternoon, March 12, one of the most willful and 
horrible murders ever perpetrated in the State was the shooting of 



230 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

John N. Wathan by a squad of Colonel Glenn's negro troops. A few 
days prior to the shooting, Martin L. Daley, a loyal citizen of Union 
County, the home of Wathan, was requested by him to come to Hen- 
derson and ascertain if he would be allowed to take the oath and re- 
nounce his allegiance to the Confederacy. 

Mr. Daley visited Henderson, as requested, and called upon 
Major Shook, Post Commandant, Thomas F. Cheaney, Military Pro- 
vost Marshal, being confined to his bed at the time. Major Shook 
gave Mr. Daley a safe passport for Wathan and agreed to meet him 
on Sunday, the twelfth instant. In accordance with this safe pass- 
port, the citizen and soldier came to Henderson the twelfth, accom- 
panied by William H. Wathan, a brother of the soldier, who wished 
to surrender and take the oath. They called, as agreed, upon Major 
Shook, who sent an escort with them to the residence of Provost 
Marshal Cheaney. After hearing the case, Mr. Cheaney administered 
the oath to Wathan and gave him a printed safe conduct, with his 
sisfuature attached. This was about four o'clock in the afternoon. 
The three then returned to the hotel to prepare for their return to 
Union County. About six o'clock the two Wathans and Daley 
started, and while riding along the road near the residence of Hon. 
H. F. Turner, in the lower end of the cit}^, were ha.lted by a 
squad of Colonel Glenn's negro troops, coming down the road in a 
sweeping double quick. The three men halted and waited the ap- 
proach of the troops. Upon coming up they immediately ordered 
the two Wathans to dismount, which they did. Then they took Wil- 
liam Wathan aside to shoot him, when one of the negroes announced 
that he was not the man. They then stood John N. Wathan in the 
road, about ten paces off, and notwithstanding he exhibited his safe 
conduct from the Provost Marshal, at the command of one of the 
negroes, several shots were tired at him, and strange to say he was 
unscathed. He then turned and ran in the direction of the river. 
Daley ran his horse alongside of the doomed man, endeavoring to 
protect him, while William Wathan ran in the opposite direction. Wa- 
than attempted to mount Daley's horse, but failed, so closely was he 
pursued by the fiends in Federal uniforms. Finding that he was 
soon to be overtaken, he ran around Daley's horse toward a fence, 
but before he could mount it, the devils had surrounded him, when 
one of them approach(|d and felled him to the ground with the butt 
of his gun. After falling, a volley was fired into his body, and the 
poor, unfortunate man lay a mangled, gasping spectacle before his 
murderers. One of the men then ran up to Daley and fired at his 



1 



HISTORV OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 231 

head, but, missing him, broke the stock of his gun on the hip of the 
horse Daley escaped and returned to the Hancock House. 

This villainous procedure, pgrpetrated on the Sabbath, rekindled 
the outraged feelings of the populace, and Colonel Glenn and his 
understrappers were severely criticised. 

It will be remembered that in a previous part of this chapter, 
mention has been made of the hanging of a negro, left with the small- 
pox by Glenn's troops, at the cross-roads, on their return from a raid 
to Corydon The negroes who did this foul deed, claimed that they 
knew Wathan, and that he was one of the men engaged in that hang- 
in- and for that they took revenge. Of this, however, the truth was 

never known. 

Colonel Glenn promised to hold a rigid investigation, but this 
one, like all of his other promises, went by default. The body of 
voun^ Wathan was brought to the city, where it was neatly coffined 
and next dav taken by his friends to his home in Union County. It 
was said that his mother (Mrs. Nettie Wathen) became, for a tmie at 
least, deranged from grief. 

The citizens of Henderson had borne under the outrages of the 
Federal brute, who commanded the negro soldiers, just as long as 
thev could afford, and something had to be done. He was a drunken 
outiaw, and not the equal of a man of his command. No one re- 
spected him, and nothing less than an honest desire to keep the 
peace and submit to the authority of the Government, even though 
it be Administered bv drunken tyrants, kept them from admmistenng 
to him the same dose his cowardly soldiers gave to poor Wathan. 

A short time orior to this last outrage, General Eli H. Murray, a 
Kentuckian, a most gallant officer and cultured man, had been as- 
signed to the command of this Department, with headquarters at 
Russellville. The writer, who had been associated with General 
Murray in the earlv part of the war, took upon himself the task of 
writing that distinguished commander k full and detailed account of 
the course of Glenn and his men, and begging that he make a short 
visit to Henderson and investigate for himself. 

In answer to that letter, General Murray reported in person at 
the writer's house on Sunday morning, March 19. After bathing and 
chancin- his dress, he went to the Hancock House, registered his 
name, and established temporary headquarters in one of the rooms 
in the frame part of the building. During the day he was visited in 
the parlor by very many citizens, including Governor Dixon, W. B. 



232 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Woodruff, Ben Harrison, D. Banks and W. S. Holloway, all of whom 
.had but one and the same story to tell. The General evidenced con- 
siderable chagrin towards Glenn and his captains, and was not mealy 
mouthed in so stating to his visitors. He repaired to his room, don- 
ned his uniform, and sent for Glenn to report immediately. 

The meeting between the two will long be remembered, for the 
excoriation that Glenn received from his superior was withering in 
the extreme. The cowardly poltroon was never so humble, and when 
disrobed of the paraphernalia of office, he became an object of pity. 
He stood in one corner of the room trembling in his glossy-legged 
boots, drawn over his pants, his belt, sash, sword and side arms taken 
from him, the very picture of guilt and infamy, in durance vile. 
General Murray's words pierced him through and through, and when 
told that he would be sent to Louisville a prisoner to be there tried 
by Court Martial, his wicked heart seemed to sink within him. 

Nor was Captain Wright, at whose instance poor Wathan had 
been murdered, treated with any more leniency. Both men were 
sent away to Louisville, Wright in chains. One, the Colonel, was dis- 
missed from the service, while the other would have been hung had 
he not made his escape fr^om custody. The regiment was ordered to 
leave the city and go in camp at the Fair Grounds, and the officers 
notified what was expected of them. 

A short time after General Murray's return to Russellville, and 
at his instance, the whole command was ordered out of Henderson 
County, to the delight of every citizen, Union or otherwise. 

On April 7, Captain B. Watson, of Major Shook's Kentucky 
command, attacked Jake Bennett's guerrillas, said to have outnum- 
bered him three to one, at King's Mills, wounding three horses, one 
man, and capturing a Lieutenant Hickerson, who, it was said, was 
with the squad that murdered Mr. Rankin. 

On the ninth day of April, General Robert E. Lee surrendered 
his army in Virginia, and then pardons were wanted by the wagon 
load. A great many Confederates came in voluntarily and surren- 
dered, among the number. Captain O. B. Steele, and many of his 
men. 

On Saturday, April 16, the news of the assassination of Presi. 
dent Lincoln was received, and thereupon Mayor Banks issued his 
proclamation, directing all stores to be closea from ten o'clock, for 
the remainder of the day, and at ten o'clock for all of the bells of 
the city to be tolled, in respect to the memory of the departed Presi- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 233 

dent. Many merchants, although strongly opposed to Mr. Lincoln 
politically, draped their store fronts in mourning. 

Colonel William P. Gravsen, who had been captured and put 
under bond of twenty thousand dollars, was re-arrested for an alleged 
violation of his parole, and suit instituted on his bond. 

The following Confederate soldiers had come in and reported to 
Major Shook and Provost Marshal Cheaney, for surrender and pa- 
role : 

George Green, John W. Arnett, John W. Frazier. Edward G. 
Powell, William Young Watson, John A. Gaines, James M. Lewis, 
Mitchell D. Denton, John H. French, Orlando F. Walker, John D. 
Gobin, George H. Rankin, Paul J. Marrs, William Lockett, Jr., J. A. 
Denton, G. B. Spencer, John R. Dixon, Pressly Prilchett, A. H. Po- 
sey, George Gibson, George Robertson, David L. Boswell, Ambrose 
McBride, Horace McBride, Joseph F. King, John R. Bailey, O. B. 
Steele, W. P. Grayson, George Robinson, Thomas Pritchett, George 
Gibson and John Walker. 

Lieutenant Colonel Tom Campbell, of the Seventeenth Kentucky 
Cavalry, came to Henderson and established a Horse Pound, in 
which he soon had every horse of value to be found in Henderson, 
and its immediate surroundings. Many of these horses were re- 
turned free of charge, while some of them were bought back. Some 
of them were never returned. 

He organized an Illinois raid, having learned of an established 
band of horse and mule thieves, whose ramifications extended 
throughout Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. Through the 
treachery of one or more of the clan. Colonel Campbell became cog- 
nizant of their villainy. 

A young man, who had been induced to join them, piloted Camp- 
bell to their rendezvous, and pointed out members of the organiza- 
tion. Captain Goard and Lieutenant Hampton, passing from Madi- 
sonville, through Webster County, shot old man Browning and his 
two sons. At Shawneetown, Illinois, two more were shot. At Sa- 
line, three more were shot. Three Quinns and one Davison, of 
We'ister, were shot. At Mt. Carmel, Illinois, five more were shot. 
Among these were a son of the Carlisles, of Webster County, and 
some other relatives and friends. 

The Carlisles swore vengeance against Campbell and his men, 
and after the war, as it is well known by many readers, the Carlisles 
and one Dr. Davison, did murder Lieutenant Hampton opposite 



234 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Owensboro. and were subsequently captured and sent to the peniten- 
tiary for life, but some years afterwards pardoned. 

During the month of July the notorious Colonel Sam Johnson, 
with his command of Federals, entered Henderson, and were but a 
short time in making themselves obnoxious. His first step was to 
suppress, for a time, the Henderson News, a paper which had done 
more, perhaps, to suppress the guerrillas than Johnson and all of his 
men, for, be it it said to his credit, Mr. Harrison, editor of the News, 
was unflinching in his devotion to good government, and a terror to 
both sides who departed from that rule. He had no mercy upon 
guerrilla bands, who plundered and stole, and the only wonder now 
is that he had not been butchered by some of the very men with 
whom he was accused, by Johnson, of being in sympathy. 

The August election coming on, Johnson's next step was to ar- 
rest leading Democrats, solely for the purpose of frightening others 
more timid away from the polls. Hon, John Y. Brown was arrested 
and placed on parole by this distinguished chieftain, but released im- 
mediately after the election. , 

The News, early in August, announced that not over a quarter 
crop of tobacco would be raised in the county owing to the drouth in 
May, and excessive wet weather after that time. The price of to- 
bacco ranged then from twelve dollars and fifteen cents to seventeen 
dollars and fifty cents. 

August 23, the mustering officer and paymaster of the Kentucky 
troops arrived in Henderson, for the purpose of paying off and mus- 
tering out of service Major Shook and his command.* This was the 
first time this little company of patriots had ever been paid, yet they 
faithfully performed their duty, and had never, during their long stay 
in Henderson, given any of the citizens cause to complain of them. 

The war was over now, and the people of the south had 
acknowledged the supremacy of the national arms, and expressed 
their desire to be restored to their original rights, under the laws and 
constitution of the country. The vanquished "Sons of the Sun" had 
shown their devotion to the cause which they espoused upon many a 
weary march, and through all the trials incident to the condition of 
well and long sustained warfare. They had illustrated their lineage 
and their genious in the camp, on the march, in battle, and wherever 
the shiftings and perilous scenes of their brief but diversified career 
carried them. The boys in blue had done the same, and were now 
ready to lay aside the sword and gun, and meet their brotheis of the 
South on hospitable ground, drink to the health of a restored union. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 235 

and forever bury all past differences; but the programme was made 
out, and the first actor made the grand entree in the person of the 
before-mentioned Col. Samuel -^Johnson, a broken down divine of 
small consequence. He came clad in the unstained and untorn 
uniform of his country, with a guard of U. S. soldiers armed with 
pistols and sabers. He made a great speech, in which he left the 
field of legitimate discussion, to denounce personally, citizens of the 
county who stood high in public esteem, because they opposed the 
radical teachings of the party in power. He anathematised the con- 
servative party, and heaped abuse upon its advocates. He ruled the 
Hon. R. T. Glass off the track for the Legislature, and did many 
other unwarranted acts before he was called away. A few days before 
the election, the One-Hundred and Fifty-third Indiana Regiment 
landed, and with the exception of a small guard, encamped at the Fair 
Grounds. Hon. John Y. Brown, as before stated, was placed under 
guard just as he was going to the country to fill an appointment. In 
the city, officers and soldiers were present at the polls, detectives were 
busy upon the streets, applying their infamous avocations, cannons 
were stationed in the streets, and at intervals during. the day belched 
forth their threatening thunder. One piece of artillery was stationed 
at the corner of the street nearest the voting place, the people unheed- 
ing the military demonstrations and the illegal oath which was 
offered, and which they were obliged to take before depositing their 
votes, thronged to the polls. "The cannon was removed to the other 
corner of the square, in sight of and ce*imanding the voting place. 
The people still pressed forward to vote, every means short of actual 
violence being employed to paralyze the will of the people. But all 
was in vain, while hundreds were deterred from voting, from fear of 
arrest, subsequent annoyence and ill treatment, there were enough 
brave and determined men in the county to carry the election for the 
conservatives by over seven hundred majority. 

Now our scarred and gallant veterans were returned to the walks 
of private life, our rent and battle-stained flags were given over to a 
nation's keeping, but our poor old Court House, a towering temple of 
which we were all proud, was a dilapidated, miserable skeleton of a 
concern. The exigencies of " Military Necessity " had con\erted it 
into a prison for rebels and citizens of the county. Next the colored 
troops took possession, and at last it became the barracks of the 
Kentucky volunteei force. It was built for a temple oi justice, but 
its brick walls, once bright red, paled at the scenes of tyranny and in- 
justice which transpired within and around them. Its ceilings and 



236 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

chambers, once almost classical from the associations and memories 
of former times, had become disfigured and defaced by a rude soldiery. 
In these chambers had rung the eloquence of John J. Crittenden, 
Richard Thompson, of Indiana, Humphrey Marshall, Thos. L. Jones, 
John W. Stevenson, Thos. C. McCreary, Josh Bell, Governors 
Magoffin, Dixon and Powell, Crockett, Dallam, Turner, Hughes, Cis- 
sell. Cook, McHenry, Jackson, Yeaman, Brown, Vance, Glass, Kinney, 
and other gifted members of the bar, but since the sounds of eloquence 
had died away in the old temple, its walls had echoed ribald blas- 
phemy, and the billingsgate of reckless men and prostitutes. Wanton 
destructions had torn and dismantled it, and the protecting fold o^ 
the star spangled banner, which had long floated over its rotunda had 
at last been removed, and lo ! the result of the protectio7i^ — all of the 
fencing around the grounds had been destroyed, the shrubbery worse 
than mutilated, and inside the building, the benches, stairs, window 
frames, sash, partitions, etc., all demolished, something had to be 
done. 

December 18, 1865, an act was passed and approved, authorizing 
the County Court to levy and collect ten cents additional upon the 
one hundred dollars for biylding and repairing the Court House, and 
paying the indebtedness of the county. In due time the dilapidated 
old building was again made as good as new. 

At a meeting of the citizens of Henderson County, held in the 
city on December 29, to consider the subject of labor, John G. Hollo- 
way was appointed Chairman, and George M. Priest, Secretary. The 
following resolutions \vere reported by John H. Barrett, Isom Johnson, 
James D. Hatchitt, F. Cunningham and S, J. Alves, and endorsed by 
the meeting : 

"■ Whehkas, The subject of labor is one of vital importance to the peo- 
ple of our community, now, in order that our views on this question may be 
rightly imderstood, we state without fear of contradiction, that for the last 
y ^2iV, \z}oor \\di% co\x\vc\^x\di^dihighir prices here W-\z.v\ in any part of the United 
States. This meeting is not intended to do the laborer any injustice, for we 
are willing to pay full compensation for all that is done for us, but prices here- 
tofore paid being most unreasonable, we feel that it would be to our 
interest to do without labor, rather than pay most exhorbant rates for it. Such 
farmers and tobacconists as have paid the past high prices, have been losers 
thereby. The wages should be fair and reasonable between the contracting 
parties, and uniform throughout the community, 

Besolved, That we are willing to pay prices equal to the highest rates 
paid anywhere where the same kind of labor is used, and for the same purpose, 
and while we do not propose to establish prices, tior bind any person bj our 
action, to conform to our views upon the subject, yet at the present prices of 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



237 



the products of the farm, and with the certainty of still lower prices, we are of 
opinion that one hundred and seventy-five dollars per annum for men, and 
seventy-five dollars per annum for women, (without incumbrance), for year 
round work, and proportional prices for boys and girls for farm labor, and cor. 
responding prices for other kinds of labor, is as much as we can afibrd to pay, 
the hirer to furnish good, wholesome provisions, fuel and quarters, and the 
laborer to pay for necessary medical attention, furnish his own clothing, and 
deduct for loss of time. And we pledge ourselves to a faithful and honest com- 
pliance with any agreement we may make with the laborer, and we will duly 
respect and protect his interests and rights while in our employ." 

1866. 
Much of the history of the war omitted in the preceeding pages 
will be found in the sketch of General Adam R. Johnson, Captain 
Ollie B. Steele, and Colonel James H. Holloway, while under the 
head of " Sketches and Recollections,'' several incidents, both painful and 
interesting, will be found. 

THE WAR OVER. 

This year dawned upon a peaceful country, and a people deter- 
mined, by honesty, industry and frugality, to regain their pecuniary 
losses. The war had scourged them, indeed it had robbed many men 
of their means of subsistence. They had borne patiently with thieves 
and scoundrels and foraging parties of both armies, and thanked 
God that their lives had been spared. Society had greatly changed ; 
a great deal of that old-fashioned hospitality, for which Kentuckians 
had been so proverbial, had now to give way to hard business, hard 
work and scrutenizing economy. Old-time friends had become es- 
tranged during the wicked strife, a love for money had taken the 
place of unrestrained sociability, a Northern idea of living possessed 
the greater part of the people. Slaves were now as free as the winds, 
and homes which were once presided oyer by the mistress, with her 
half-dozen servants to answer every call, now presented altogether a 
different scene, for the immediate members t)f the family were com- 
pelled to do that which a few years before, they had ordered done. 
People learned to live hard and close, and after many years of this 
great change of life, it is safe to say Henderson County is in a better 
condition to-day than ever before. 

It is due to the colored people to say that, under the circum- 
stances attending the radical change from slavery to freedom, the 
great change of becoming their own masters, and toiling for their own 
support, in place of having the cares of life to devolve upon masters, 
their behavior surprised their most sanguine friends, who had viewed 
the situation with anxious solicitude. They came into this new life as 



238 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

thouo^h they had been fdrilled and tutored for months; they accepted 
the situation with a becoming grace, and while some few were disposed 
to behave unruly, the great majority behaved like men of sense and 
character, settling down to the realities of life, and going to work to 
build up themselves and growing families / 

January 25, a branch of the Freedman's Bureau had been estab 
lished in Henderson, and Thomas F. Cheaney appointed Superinten- 
dent. This institution was a sort of a stand between the colored man 
and his employer. Contracts were made for labor, and one of the 
duties of the Superintendent was to see justice done both parties. 
Organized at the time it was, and honestly and judiciously managed 
as it was in Henderson, the system was more of a blessing than other- 
wise. Worthless colored people were controlled, and vagrant negroes 
forced to seek and obtain employment. 

EXPLOSION OF THE MISSOURI. 

On the thirtieth day of January, the magnificent steamboat 
" Missouri," while racing with the " Silver Moon," blew up in the 
county a few miles above Evansville and when near the mouth of 
Green River, completely demolishing the frame work of the boat, and 
killing many of her passengers and crew. This accident happened 
about ten or eleven o'clock at night, and daring most of the day fol- 
lowing, pieces of the wreck were seen floating by the wharf. 

A large sheet of one of the boilers was blown several hundred 
yards into the woods on the Henderson County side. 

An act was passed directing the Circuit Court to be held on the 
first Mondays in March and September, and to continue for thirty 
days each. 

February 12, Col. John W. Crockett was arrested and taken to 
Louisville, on the charge of treason, but was soon released. 

March 15, an organized band of robbers appeared in the county 
and raided several farms for the purpose of robbing returned colored 
soldiers. They were successful in several instances, but were finally 
driven out by officers of the law. 

June 7, the Henderson and Union Petroleum Company struck oil 
at their well on the head waters of Highland CreeV, at a depth of 
four hundred and fifty feet, but from the best information to be had 
the unloosed gas rushed out with such force, it blew all of the oil out 
of the well, and the company collapsed. 

September 20, Elder William Steele reported having joined in 
marriage, within the last twenty years, three hundred and thirty 
couples, ten of this number married at his office, five at his residence, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 239 

and two on the bank of the Ohio, standing under an umbrella. In 
three instances he married the same party twice. He married four 
couples in one day. His fees ran from thanky to twenty dollars, and 
in one case he married a gentleman said to be worth eight or ten 
thousand dollars, who declined paying him anything, because, he said 
- Sail is sickly, and I can't afford it." The Elder also reported that 
one-fourth of the number were dead at that time. 

September 20, " Neptune " was on a bender, to the serious detri- 
ment of the river bottom farmers. The river was out of its banks, 
and tobacco and corn in the low lands were greatly damaged, in many 
instances totally destroyed. 

The Fair Company having been re-organized, the first fair tor 
many years was held, commencing Tuesday, October 2. Necessary 
preparations for this fair were rapidly made, and under many disad- 
vantages, yet the success which attended the meeting was very grati- 
fying to the new company. 

On the thirteenth, Saturday morning, eight prisoners broke the 
jail and effected their escape. Two escapades had been effected 
prior to this time, notwithstanding the jail was a new one. 

1867. 
The proposition to build the Henderson & Nashville Railroad, 
which had agitated the people along its line for many years prior to 
the war, was again revived. Under the old management an agent of 
the company had proved unfaithful to the trust imposed m him, in 
this- He was sent to Europe for the purpose of negotiating a loan 
by the use of man.y thousands of the company's bonds. About tne 
time he arrived in Europe the war between Russia and Turkey broke 
out, and a short time afterwards the terrible storming of Sebastopol 
occurred. This agent viewed the situation, and seeing, as he thought, 
a great harvest of profit to be reaped from an investment in Irish po- 
tatoes, onions, etc., purchased him a ship, and then the potatoes 
and onions, and started for the Crimea. It has never been known 
whether he adopted this plan for the purpose of placing the bonds 
for the benefit of the company, or whether he intended pobketing tor 
himself the principal and profits of his huge speculation. 

His ship went out upon the high seas and rode the waves in ma- 
iestic splendor, but a landing place for his fresh provisions could not 
be found. After so long a time rocking and rolling with the waves, 
a loud aroma came up from the hull of the vessel, when it was dis- 
covered that his cargo had decayed and become worthless. Ihe 
bonds were gone for a mere song, and the potatoes and onions for 
nothing. 



240 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

These bonds were held by English capitalists, and were good 
against the road. It was necessary that something should be done 
to recover them either by compromise or purchase. 

So, in 18G(), General Jerry T. Boyle, representing a syndicate, 
sailed for Europe, and succeeded in securing enough of the " potato 
and onion" bonds to give those whom he represented a controlling 
influence. 

Returning to the United States with his bonds, suit was immedi- 
ately instituted in the Christian County Circuit Court, by E. G. Sebree 
and others, against the Henderson & Nashville Railroad Company, 
to foreclose the mortgage and to subject the road and its fr..nchises 
to sale. 

At the January term, 1867, a decree directing the sale of the 
road to take place on the twenty-third day of February, 1867, in the 
city of Hopkinsville, was rendered by the Chancellor. In accord- 
ance with this decree, Hon. John Feeland, Special Commissioner, 
advertised the sale, and on the day appointed a large number of in- 
terested parties assembled at Hopkinsville. H. B. Hanson, of New 
York, became the purchaser of the road at and for the small sum of 
twenty thousand dollars. 

Hanson that day, or a few days afterwards, for a consideration, 
transferred his purchase to a company of gentlemen, no doubt organ- 
ized at the time of sale. 

An act was then secured incorporating the Evansville, Hender- 
son & Nashville Railroad Company, and the purchase transferred 
to that company. General Jerry T. Boyle was "elected President. 
Jerry T. Boyle, John P. Campbell, E. G. Sebree, George M. Priest, 
and Dabney O. Day, Directors. 

The new company set to work to build the road in the stereo- 
typed way, soliciting donations and subscriptions of stock. 

Henderson became wild over the outlook. Many of her people 
were willing to tax themselves beyond redemption, for the privilege of 
listening to the toot of one whistle, or the lattle of one set of car 
trucks. "A railroad, my kingdom for a railroad," was the cry. 

An act was passed by the Legislature authorizing counties, cities 
and towns along the line of this road to tax themselves by peti- 
tions, signed. Petitions were circulated in Henderson, and the 
necessary majority soon secured. General Boyle was in a great hurry, 
and so were the people ; but the City Council chose to go slow. Dif- 
ficulties existing between the company and the city were adjusted, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 241 

and soon thereafter one hundred thousand dollars of eight per cent, 
bonds, and two hundred thousand dollars of seven per cent, bonds 
were directed to be printed, sigiaed and delivered to the custodian 
appointed by the city, as Henderson's ''donation'' to the building of 
this o-reat enterprise. As an inducement, or bait, Henderson was to 
o-et for her three hundred thousand dollars in bonds, three hundred 
and sixty thousand dollars in common stock, and, as a greater induce- 
m.ent, the taxpayer was to receive twenty per cent, additional on the 
face of his tax receipts in stock. After hard work the bonds were 
placed at a price making them equal to a ten per cent, security, and 
verv soon thereafter, the money all spent and more wanted. 

Henderson County was approached and enticing bait offered, but 
the magisterial fish refused to bite. It was evident that something 
had to be done. There was no money to pay interest on the bonds 
of the company for which the road had been mortgaged, and finally, 
after triggering around, a company called the American " Contract 
Company," organi/ed under the laws of the State of Pensylvania, 
came along and took a lease for a certain number of years, and, in 
the course of time, completed the road. 

March, 1869, the iron was laid to Madisonville, and one consign- 
ment to a Henderson merchant was twelve hundred dozen eggs. 

May 20, a grand barbecue and festival was given by the city and 
citizens to the people along the line, at the Fair Grounds, in honor of 
the completion of the road to Madisonville. Several years after the 
completion of the road, by a majority vote of the stockholders, at a 
meeting held in Hopkinsville, a consolidation was effected with the 
St. Louis & Southeastern Road, running from Evansville to St. 

Louis. 

The line was then known as the St. Louis & Southeastern, con- 
solidated. Several years ago the St. Louis & Southeastern con- 
solidated became, by purchase, the property of the Louisville, Nash- 
ville & Great Southern, and, since that time, has been known as 
the Henderson & Nashville Division of that corporation. This di- 
vision has increased its business under the new management, until 
now it is known and regarded as one of the most important roads in 
the country.* 

January 29, an act of the Legislature was passed creating John 
Funk, George M. Priest, W. C. Howard, William M. Lockett, John S. 
McCormick, John Rudy, John N. Lyle and H. F. Turner, a body cor- 
porate under the name and style of the Henderson Fair Company, 
ifi 



242 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

February 5. an act was passed and approved, establishing in this 
Judicial District a Court of Justice, to be known as the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas^ to hold annual sessions in January and July, of eighteen 
judicial days each. 

In August, Caswell D. Bennett, of Smithland, Livingston County, 
was elected Judge Common Pleas, and held the first court the following 
January. 

During the early part of February the citizens of Henderson 
were furnished coal, in small installments, as a great favor, for the mod- 
erate sum of fifty cents per bushel. 

A bill to re-apportion the State into Senatorial Districts was re. 
ported in the Legislature and passed. The Fifth District under the 
act was composed of the counties of Henderson, Union and Webster. 

February 27, an act was passed making the provision of the me- 
chanics' lien law, passed February 17, 1856, apply to Henderson 
County. 

On the same day an act was passed authorizing the County Court 
of Henderson County to levy an ad valorem tax of twenty cents on 
the one hundred dollars, and a capitation tax of two dollars, and also 
to borrow the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars for the purpose of 
repairing and rebuilding the public buildings, made untenable by the 
ravages of the war. This act repealed the act of December, 1865. 

The Ohio River at this time only lacked a few inches of being as 
high as it was in 1848. 

The News of February 26 said of the high water : 

" The classic village of Shawneetown is totally submerged, Uniontown is 
metamorphosed into a miniature Venice, and two peeping spires mark the spot 
where Casey ville ought to be." 

March 9, an act was passed authorizing the County Court to elect 
a General Superintendent of the Roads, "who shall hold his office 
for the term of two years." 

March 14, a daily river mail between Louisville and Henderson 
was established. 

During this year a Board of Southern Relief was established, 
and through their instrumentality, great quantities of supplies were 
sent South. 

Taxable property this year for the county, $6,740,162; white 
males over twenty-one years of age, 2,201 ; children between 
six and twenty years of age, 2,988 ; pounds of tobacco raised in 1866, 
6,067,180 ; tons of hay, 10,583 ; bushels corn, 591,980 ; bushels 
wheat, 17,600. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 243 

August 1, the steamboat " Cora S " sunk at the bar below the 
city. Her cargo was brought to the city. 

September 23, a new subm^ine cable was laid across the Ohio 
by the Henderson & Evansville Telegraph Company, Jacob Held^ 
President and Superintendent; E. L. Starling, Secretary. Every 
dollar of the stock of this company was owned in Henderson. 

The annual fair this year was quite a success, and in recogni- 
tion of President John Funk's services, he was presented at its close 
with a handsome silver service by the directors. Hon. John Young 
Brown delivered the presentation address. 

On the twenty-first day of November the Ovvensboro & Hen- 
derson Telegraph Company was completed, and a few weeks there- 
after was consolidated with the Henderson and Evansville line. 

November 27, Rev. W. G. x\llen, a noted Presbyterian divine, 
and former pastor of the Henderson Church, was killed at Morgan - 
field, by his horse falling upon him. 

November 31, Engineer F. H. Crosby ascertained by actual 
measurement, the difference between the high and low water mark to 
be forty-three feet. 

The assessment for U. S. Internal Revenue this year was $8, 
745.36. 

1868. 

February 5, an act was passed and approved, authorizing William 
McClain's o-reat land sale bv lotterv. The Commissioners created 
under the act were David Banks, Grant Green, William S. Holloway, 
E. L. Starling, William S. Elam and Robert T. Glass. 

February 5, an act was passed, dividing the State into four Ap- 
pelate Districts, under this act Henderson became a part of the Fourth 
District. M irch 6, the State was divided into sixteen judicial districts. 
Under this appointment Henderson, Livingston, Union, Webster, and 
McLean formed the Third District. 

March 6, A. H. Major, John H. Stanley, Harbison Butler, Fran- 
cis E. Walker, William McClain, George Atkinson, Archibald Dix'on, 
John K. Smith, Hugh Tate, A. B. Barrett and Andrew Circles, were 
incorporated under the name and style of the " Horse Shoe Bend 
Ferlce Company." 

March 9, an act was passed changing the term of the Common 
Pleas Court, directing them to be held in June and December of each 
year, twenty-four, in place of eighteen days each. At the same ses- 
sion the time of holding the Circuit Courts was changed to March 
and November, and thirty days allotted to each term. At the same 



244 ^ HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

term fifteen hundred dollars was appropriated for the pur}x>se of 
erecting a monument over the grave of the lamented Governor L. W. 
Powell, the amount to be expended by his excellency, Governor John 
W. Stevenson. 

On the same day an act was passed incorporating the " Hender- 
son Running Park Association," and authorizing subscription books 
to be opened by Jackson McClain, William M. Lockett, James Alves, 
G. L. Compton, S. K. Sneed, N. C. Howard and Samuel W. Rankin. 
On the same day an act was passed incorporat ing the Green and Bar- 
ren River Navigation Company. By the terms of this act, those great 
commercial thoroughfares were given to that company for a mere 
song, and from six months after that day to this, the shippers and 
people along the two rivers have found just cause to complain. 

1869. 

March 9, an act was passed authorizing the County Court to ap- 
point additional processioners, not exceeding two in each voting pre- 
cinct of the county. 

March 15, an act was passed incorporating the Henderson & 
Hartford Railroad Company, and granting George M. Priest, Robert 
G. Beverley and R. T. Glass, of Henderson, together with others 
along the proposed line, all the power and authority incident to such 
corporations. 



^ 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



POPULATION— NEW PRECINCTS— HEAVY SNOW FALL— COLORED MEN 

VOTE FOR THE FIRST TIME WM. m'CLAIN'S 

GREAT LAND SALE, ETC. 

1870. 

'!—• ENDERSON County now contained by the Federal census, eleven 
l) thousand, seven hundred and seventy-nine natives, and six hun- 
dred and eighty-eight foreign whites, and five thousand, nine hundred 
and ninety blacks, making a total population of eighteen thousand, four 
hundred and fifty-seven, an increase since the census of 1860, of four 
thousand, one hundred and ninety-five. From 1860 to 1870 the in- 
crease of the negro population was only one hundred and forty-six, 
while the increase of the whites was four thousand and sixty-two. 

On the second day of January of this year occured the heaviest 
snow fall ever known in the State, reaching in many places a depth 
of from three to four feet. 

March 21, an additional voting precinct was established. Hen- 
derson Precinct, under this act, was divided into two precincts, called 
Upper and Lower, Third Street becoming the division line. 

The State Fair Association held its annual meeting at the grounds 
of the Henderson Fair Company this year, commencing October 4. 

August 1, the colored population legally qualified, exercised the 
right of^suffrage for the first time. Great fear was apprehended, but 
th"e election passed off as quietly as any that had ever preceeded it. 

At this election the " Road Tax " proposition was submitted, 
and carried by a majority vote of the people. The first levy was 
made at the October Court of Claims, two dollars upon each person 



246 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. , 

legally bound to work upon the roads, and ten cents upon the one 
hundred dollars worth of property ad valorem. Two-fifths of this 
amount was set aside as a sinking fund for the purpose of taking up 
the bonds of the county. 

Thursday, July 7, William McClain's great land sale drawing 
took place in " Weisiger Hall," Louisville. Ticket No. 8,553, owned 
by Dennis J. McLaughlin, a carpenter, of Brashear City, Louisiana 
drew the capital prize, consisting of river bottom land of the finest 
character, valued at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and ten 
thousand dollars in cash. 

Ticket No. 7,175, owned by Robert Hunt and Frank Karesner, 
of Louisville, and others, drew the second prize, consisting of river 
bottom land valued at thirty thousand dollars, and five thousand dol- 
lars in cash. 

The third prize, valued at thirty thousand dollars, was drawn by 
H. Brown, of Mobile, Alabama. 

The fourth prize, valued at thirteen thousand dollars, was drawn 
by Lieutenant Governor, Thomas P. Porter, of Versailles, Kentucky. 

December 4, several prisoners confined in the county jail, effected 
their escape. 

1871. 

The first ten days during the month of February, the two banks 
of the city, the Farmers' and National, paid out in tobacco checks, 
six hundred and fourty thousand dollars, of this amount the Farmers' 
Bank paid four hundred and fifty thousand, and the Henderson Nat- 
ional one hundred and ninety thousand dollars. 

On the thirtieth day of December, a proposition to subscribe for 
five thousand shares, of fifty dollars each, to aid in building the South 
Kentucky Railroad, was submitted to a vote of the people, and as 
usual with Henderson County, easily and most gracefully defeated. 
The South Kentucky has never been breathed from that day to this. 

1872. 

February 6, the Legislature repealed the act of February 27, 1867, 
authorizing the county to levy an ad valorem tax for public uses, and 
in lieu of that, enacted a law authorizing the county court to issue 
and sell her bonds, to an amount not exceeding forty thousand dollars 

March 18, an act to lay the State off into ten Congressional 
Districts was passed. Under this apportionment, Henderson, Daviess, 
Hopkins, Muhlenburg, Ohio, McLean, Christian, Webster, Union, 
and Hancock Counties formed the second district. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 247 

The road law having been adopted by the people, and a tax cre- 
ated for the purpose, at the February term of the County Court, a 
motion was made to elect for th^e first time under the new law, a 
Superintendent of Roads. The court was pretty evenly divided, as 
will be observed by the following vote : 

Those voting in the affirmatives were Turner, Toy, Shelby, Grif- 
fin Cooper, Parker and Pritchett, (7.) Those negative, were Royster, 
Priest, Farley, Denton, Long and Gibson, (6.) The motion was de- 
clared adopted. J. T. Wilson was elected, and an order passed di- 
recting him not to expend exceeding three thousand dollars upon the 

roads of the county. 

March 28, an act was approved incorporating the Evansville & 
Jackson Railroad. The incorporators from Henderson were Henry 
F Turner, E. L. Starling, W. A. Hopkins, George M. Priest, E. W. 
Worsham, Joseph Adams and Leonard H. Lyne. Quite an amount 
of wind work, and perhaps some practical work has been indulged, 
looking to the building of this road, but at this time there is no pros- 
pect for its early completion. (See Ohio Valley Railroad.) 

1873. 
. January 18, an act of the General Assembly was approved, incor- 
porating the St. Louis Catholic Cemetery. 

March 28, Captains A. O. Durland, Charles G. Perkins, E. O 
Boyle and St. John Boyle, were incorporated under the name and 
style of the Evansville & Henderson Railroad Packet Company. 

KENTUCKY BOUNDARY. 

April 23, an act was approved, having for its object the settle- 
ment of the boundary line between the State of Indiana and this 
State. The unsettled boundary begins at the head, of the Island, 
known as Green River Island, opposite, or nearly so, the mouth of 
Green River, running thence in a direction down the Ohio River to 
the lower end of said Island, upon a line dividing said Island a.Vd the 
State of Kentucky, from the State of Indiana. 

Many years ago, even in ordinary high water, steamboats passed 
down the schute between this Island and what was then known as the 
Indiana shore, but annual sediments, and the rapid growth of willows 
and cottonwoods caused the chute to fill up, until at this day it has 
become valuable as farming lands. Kentucky claims up to the corpo- 
rate limits of Evansville, under the United States survey made at the 
time Indiana was admitted into the Union of States, but since the 
change made by annual high waters, there has been a dispute between 
the two States as to the correct boundary line. Under the act of 



248 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

April 23, the Governor was authorized and directed to select a com- 
missioner, a practical surveyor, who was to be a resident of Kentucky, 
to act with a similar commissioner from the State of Indiana, to carry 
into effect the provisions of the act. David N. Walden, of Hender- 
son, was selected by the Governor, and August Pafiflin, of Evansville, 
Indiana, by the Governor of that State. These commissioners, guided 
by old papers in their possession, proceeded to make a close and ac- 
curate survey. They were careful and painstaking, and after weeks 
of hard work, succeeded in agreeing upon the line, and caused stones 
to be planted marking the survey. On the fifth day of March, 1878, 
this survey was ratified by the Kentucky Legislature, but upon com- 
ing before the Indiana legislature, was rejected, and there the matter 
has stood from that day to this, so far as any settled understanding is 
concerned. 

1874. 

January 31, the Collins School District, in the Hebardsville 
Precinct, was established by law. 

On the nineteenth day of February, an act was approved, appor- 
tioning the State into thirty-eight Senatorial Districts. Under this ap- 
portionment, Henderson and Union became the Fifth District. 

February 17, the jurisdiction of Quarterly Courts was extended 
to two hundred dollars. 

1875. 
The summer of this year will be remembered by river bottom 
planters as the one most destructive ever known in the history of the 
country. On the seventh day of August, the whole bottom country, 
bordering on the Ohio and Green rivers, was inundated and remained 
so, long enough to completely destroy the growing crops of corn and 
tobacco. Al] the tenants and renters were completely ruined, while 
landlords had to content themselves with the loss of rent and .any 
amounts they had advanced. It was a most destructive year, and but 
for the liberality of land owners, great distress would have followed. 

1876. 
February 6, the great hurricane passed through the county 
sweeping houses and timber before it. 

February 25, an act was passed by the Legislature incorporating 
William Soaper, H. P. Randolph, F. T. Crutchfield, George L. Ro- 
bard-s, Charles Elliott and G. B. Martin, under the name and style of 
the "Walnut Bend Fence Company." 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



249 



March 20, an act was passed and approved exempting citizens liv- 
ing north of Green River from the two dollars per capita tax, and of 
ten cents on each one hundred^.dollars worth of property, now assess- 
ed and levied as a road tax ; but they were required to work on the 
roads of that district under the rules governing road services before 
the act of March, 1869, went into effect. 

An act, entitled "An Act for the protection of sheep in Hender- 
son County," was passed at the same term. This act required the 
Assessor, in taking lists of taxable property, to list all dogs, and upon 
each dog should be levied and taxed two dollars, and on each bitch 
the sum of three dollars ; provided, the party or parties so assessed 
should be permitted to own one dog, or one bitch, upon which no tax 
should be levied or assessed. The amounts arising from this tax was 
directed to become a part of the white school fund. It was further 
enacted that any person owning, having or keeping any dog or bitch 
should be liable to the party or parties for all damages done by these 

animals. 

1878. 

March 11, an act was passed making it unlawful for any one to 

throw, or cause to be thrown, any logs or trash into the creeks of the 

countv. 

March 15, an act was passed reducing into one the acts relatmg 
to the roads of the county. It directed the division of the roads into 
precincts, and the apportionment of surveyors to let them out to the 
lowest and best bidder, commencmg Monday, April 1. 

At the same term, John T. Handley, J. S. Wilhoit and W. B. Pen- 
•tecost were incorporated under the name of Jonathan Lodge, I. O. 

O. F., No. 152. 

1880. 

The tenth census credits Henderson County with a population of 
twenty-four thousand five hundred and fifteen souls. Of this number 
sixteen thousand nine hundred and forty-three were whites, and seven 
thousand five hundred and seventy-two were blacks. Of the whites, 
six hundred and forty-four were foreigners. 

Comparing the census of 1880, with that of 1870, it will be ob- 
served that the increase in population aggregates six thousand and 
fifty-eight souls, and of this increase, four thousand four hundred and 
seventy-six were whites, and one thousand five hundred and eighty- 
two were black. 

Of the twenty-four thousand five hundred and fifteen souls m 
Henderson County in 1880, 19,967 were natives of the State, 563 of 



250 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Tennessee, 779 of Virginia, 171 of Ohio, 1,896 of Indiana, 191 of 
North Carolina, 17 of British America, 59 of England and Wales, 154 
of Ireland, 11 of Scotland, 345 of Germany, 10 of France, and 5 of 
Sweden and Norway. 

Of the total number there were 12,646 males and 11,869 females, 
Of school, military and citizenship ages, the population was divided 
as follows : Five to seventeen years, both inclusive, 4,270 males, 
4,183 females; eighteen to forty-four years, both inclusive, 5,051 
males ; twenty-one and over, 5,700 males. 

FARM AREAS AND FARM VALUES. 

Farms, 1,983; improved land, 146,388 acres ; value of farms, in- 
cluding land, fences and buildings, $3,666,786; value of farming im- 
plements and machinery, $142,221 ; value of liv-e stock on farms July 
1, 1880, $596,044; cost of building and repairing fencing, 1879, $49,- 
612 ; cost of fertilizers purchased, 1879, $1,220; estimated value of all 
farm productions (consumed or on hand) for 1879, $1,119,482. Prin- 
cipal productions of the county : Barley, 300 bushels ; Indian corn, 
1,680,007; oats, 27,589; rye, 3,577; wheat, 124,991. Value of or- 
chard products, $11,350; hay, 2,243 tons ; cotton, 9 bales ; Irish po- 
tatoes, 29,286 bushels ; sweet potatoes, 5,205 bushels ; tobacco, 10,- 
312,631 pounds. Live stock and its productions : Horses, 4,277 ; 
mules and asses, 2,768 ; working oxen, 108 ; milch cows, 3,577; other 
cattle, 4,660; sheep, 4,307; swine, 31,554; wool, 21,670 pounds; 
milk, 74,385 gallons ; butter, 207,040 pounds ; cheese, 230 pounds. 

March 4, an act was passed making it unlawful for any one to 
deaden timber within one hundred feet of any public road in. Hen-, 
derson County. 

April 1, an act was passed authorizing the formation of corpora- 
tions, for the purpose of constructing turnpike and gravel roads in 
Henderson County. 

April 22, an act was passed which not only authorized, but re- 
quired, the County Court to subscribe fifteen thousand dollars to 
the stock of every gravel road company, but this was to be ratified 
by the voters of the county. This act never was submitted to a 
vote. 

April 15, an act was passed dividing the State into eighteen Ju- 
dicial Districts. District No. 3 was composed of Henderson^ Critten- 
den, Union and Webster. 

This act repealed the act heretofore mentioned, which established 
a Court of Common Pleas, and gave to Henderson County three 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 251 

terms of the Circuit Court, beginning on the first Monday in 
January and fourth Monday in May, and holding thirty-six judicial 
days each, and on the fourtli^ Monday in October, holding twenty- 
four judicial days.- At the January and May terms, the first two 
weeks of each are devoted to the trial of criminal causes, the re- 
mainder of the terms to the civil docket. The October term is de- 
voted to the rendition of judgments by default, and general civil busi- 

ness. 

May 5, the '^Southwestern Narrow Gauge Railroad Company" 
was incorporated, and William H. Lewis, J. T. Leake and Ken Cha- 
peze, authorized to open books for the subscription of stock. This 
was thought to be a fine project, but, so far, it has failed to ma- 
terialize. 

On June 9 D. Banks, Jr., B. G. Witt, Larkin White, J. D. Ro- 
bards George W. White, William Hatchitt, M. M. Johnson, Samuel 
Epperson, William Soaper, Jr., O. B. Smith, J. P. Beverly, and John 
T. Bunch, filed before the County Court their articles of incorporation 
of the " Henderson, Zion and Hebardsville Gravel Road Company," 
and the same were approved by the court. 

July 7, the right of way over the road was granted, with certain 

conditions attached. . 

July 24, the company accepted the terms of the court, and, in 
a few weeks thereafter, gravel was being rapidly placed upon the 

road bed. 

On the third day of December following, the road was completed 
five miles out from the citv limits, examined, and reported substanti- 
ally built, and in good condition, by W. K. Ayer, Paul J. Marrs, and 
Dr. P. Thompson, commissioners appointed to view the work. This 
was the first gravel road built in the county, but others soon followed. 

1881, 

On the twentv-seventh day of April, Harvey S. Park, William J. 
Marshall, Jackson McClain, John H. Barrett, Cornelius Bailey, 
Fielding S. Turner, J. T. Wilson, Charles L. King, George W. Mc- 
Clure, Henry Kleymeier, and William Hatchitt filed before the court 
of the county, articles of incorporation of the "Henderson and Cory- 
don Gravel Road Company," and the same were approved by the 

court. 

On the seventh day of May the right of way was granted, upon 

similar terms, to those of the Henderson and Zion road. 

June seventh, the company accepted the terms offered by the 

■ county, and commenced grading the road for the reception of gravel. 



252 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

On the ninth of July articles of incorporation were filed by the 
same company of the " Henderson and Geneva Road," and on the 
eleventh the right of way was granted. These two roads were com- 
pleted during the fall months, ready for winter travel. 

On the seventh day of May Cornelius Bailey, E. M. Johnson, S. 
A. Young, Thomas Posey, George W. White, A. B. Sights, William 
Hatchitt, fames C. Hicks, R. Scrogin Easlin and Robert Dixon, filed 
with the court articles of incorporation of the " Henderson and 
Cross Plains," and " Henderson and Cairo Gravel Road Companies." 
On the same day the right of way was granted, and on the second day 
of July the terms of the County Court, expressed in the order grant- 
ing the right of way were accepted by the company. This road, also, 
was finished in time for winter travel. 

1882. 

January 15, an act was passed by the Legislature re-appor- 
tioning the Congressional Districts of the State. Under this act 
He7iderson^ Christian, Hopkins, Webster, Union, McLean, Daviess 
and Hancock formed the Second District. 

On April 22, an act creating and establishing a " Superior 
Court," known as a Court of Justice for the State, and to con- 
sist of three Judges who shall have the same qualification as are now 
required for Judges of the Court of Appeals, a co-adjutant to the Court 
of Appeals, was passed and approved. 

Under this act the First District was composed of the following 
counties: Hender'^on^ Fulton, Hickman, Ballard, McCracken, Graves, 
Galloway, Marshall, Livingston, Trigg, Crittenden, Caldwell, Chris- 
tian, Todd, Logan, Warren, Union, Webster, Hopkins, Daviess, Mc- 
Lean, Muhlenberg, Hancock, Ohio, Butler, Grayson, Breckenridge, 
Hardin, Barren, Allen, Simpson, Edmundson, Meade and Hart. 

The first election was held on the first Monday in August. 

April 24, an act to levy an additional tax of two cents, for 
the purpose of equalizing the per capita tax of the white and col- 
ored school children, was passed, and at the following August elec- 
tion submitted to the qualified voters of the county. Be it said to 
the credit of the county, the proposition carried, by a inajoj'ity of eighty- 
two votes. 

March 10, an act was passed exempting the inhabitants living 
on Green River Island from the payment of road tax of all kinds. 

April 11,~ an act was passed authorizing the County Court 
to issue bonds for the purpose of building gravel roads or purchasing 
those already built. 

April twenty-second, an act was passed to prevent stock from 
running at large in the county. This act was never submitted to a 
vote of the people, as required. 



HENDERSON. 



ITS LOCATION — EARLY SETTLERS — ORDINANCE OF THE TRANSYLVANIA 

COMPANY — ITS GROWTH FROM A VILLAGE, LOCATED IN THE WILD 

WOODS, TO A CITY — KEEPING STEPS WITH ADVANCED 

CIVILIZATION — PAGES OF GENERAL INTEREST. 

^^HE City of Henderson, the county seat of Henderson County, 
V_y is situated on the southeast bank of the Ohio River, about midway 
between Louisville at the Falls, and Cairo, 111., at the mouth, and is 
the northern terminus of the Henderson and Nashville division of 
the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, a great through railway line, 
connecting New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola and the Southern cities 
with St. Louis, Chicago and the East via Evansville. It is also the 
northern terminus of ^he Ohio Valley Railway, a new road now run- 
ning to Marion, the county seat of Crittenden County, and which will, 
as it is contemplated, soon be completed to some central point south 
where general traffic arrangements will be effected, whereby the 
Ohio Valley will soon be a great through route, as the Louisville & 
Nashville, and a strong competitor of that system. It is now pre- 
dicted with a degree of certainty, that justifies historical prophesy, 
that a railway will soon be completed between this city and Louis- 
ville, a road to be known as the river road. 

Henderson is one hundred and forty-five miles from Nashville, 
and is one hundred and seventy miles from St. Louis, and is the cen- 
tral point in navigation of a number of river routes, including the 
Ohio, Green, Wabash, Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi. This 
city was originally known as the " Red Banks," because of its high per- 



254 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

pendicular front of red soil, and was settled by Jacob and Michael 
Sprinkle, John Upp, John Husbands, John Hausman, John Dunn, 
Eneas McCallister, John Kuykendall, Hugh Knox, Abraham San- 
ders, Daniel Ashby, Jacob Newman, Edmund Talbott and a few 
others, commencing as far back as 1784. Since these brave and 
true old pioneers have laid their heads beneath the violets' bed, many 
changes have passed over earth. Since then the pioneer village be- 
came a town, and the town has grown to a city. Since then the wild 
deer has disappeared from dingle and glee, the wolf extinct, the poor 
" red man " is yet being driven into the far west, and the few remain- 
ing decendants of the proud-hearted Sachems, White Cloud and Ta- 
hante are now waging war far beyond the waves of the " Great River," 
from whose lofty cliffs the daughter of Menonemee made the "Lovers 
Leap " in history and song. Since then the " Eagle of American 
Liberty " was grasped by the robber hand of faction, dispoiled of his 
matchless plumage and plunged into the gory mire of civil strife. 
Since then the factious decendants of those who claimed that the prec- 
ious freight of the Mayflower was the Bible and the freedom, have 
scoffed at the declaration from the pen of Thomas Jefferson, and 
signed by the double pledge of life, honor and property, of old 
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. Since then the triad of forensic heroes, 
Clay, Calhoun and Webster, have come and gone. Since then two 
Presidents of the United States have fallen by the pistols of assas- 
sins. Since then the scientific application of steam and electricity 
has startled the world. Yes, and since then empires have fallen. 
More too, if these old people could only come back to earth and wit- 
ness the work of their children and children's children, they would 
scarce believe their own eyes. 

MRS. HANNAH DUNN. 

From 1791 to 1800, Mrs. Hannah Dunn kept a sort of tavern 
and barroom at the Red Banks, and George Holloway was the pro- 
prietor of a general provision store, including whisky and millinery. 
The whisky was made in little kettle stills, but where the supplies of 
millinery were brought from in those early times no one now living 
knows. 

Mrs. Dunn, true to the nature of her sex, was fond of dress, 
even though she was a woman of masculine mind and business. She 
paid Mr. Holloway the round sum of one pound ten shillings for a 
hat trimmed with ribbons and feathers, and packed salt from the 
works, a distance of twenty miles, for the money to settle the bill. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 255 

Bacon retailed at that time at one shilling per pound, while deer and 
bear meat were valueless in price. 

Captain John Dunn operated a small hand mill, which furnished 
meal for the settlement, but .nost persons used the mortar and pestle. 
The mortar was made by splitting a short cut of a tree and hollowmg 
one end of each half and then pinning the two together with wooden 
pins The pestle was a heavy wooden instrument with an iron or 
stone wedge in the end and used by hand. Sometimes this was op- 
erated by the use of a wooden spring. . 
All of the river travel in those days was done in canoes, and it is 
wonderful with what rapidity and ease persons paddled up and down 
the river from place to place. 

HENDERSON LAID OFF. 

In the early part of the year 1797, General Samuel Hopkins, 
agent and attorney in fact for Richard Henderson & Co., with Col- 
onel Thomas Allen, a distinguished primitive surveyor, who w& em- 
ployed bv the company, arrived at Red Banks, and proceeded to ay 
off the tiwn of Henderson, named in honor of the president of what 
was then known as the Transylvania Company, and through whose 
instrumentality the grant had been secured from the State of Virginia 
The town as laid off in August, 1797, consisted of sucty-s x square 
of four acres each, divided into lots of one acre each, making in all 
two hundred and sixty-four one-acre lots. There was also surveyed 
thirty two ten-acre lots surrounding the squares of the town. One 
Lundred and thirty-two of the one-acre lots were located above F.rs 
Street, between Green and Water Streets, commencing with the lot 
corne; of Water and First Streets as No. 1, lot corner Main and 
First Streets No. 2, lot corner Main and Second Streets No 3 lot co - 
ner Water and Second Streets No. 4, and so gn up to Twelfth Stieet. 
The remainder of the lots were located below *^.^"b''^,^,^"^'%,'';- 
ginning at the lot corner of Water and Lower First or VVashington 
Streets, as No. 133, lot corner Washington and Main No. 134, and so 
on down the river to twelfth cross street. 

In the ordinance directing the disposal of the town lots and the 
adjoining ten-acre lots the proprietors prescribed liberal terms. Gen- 
eral Hopkins was indefatigable in his efforts to advance the interest 
of his company and at the same time render satisfaction to the set- 
tiers The following is a copy of the 

^. Ordinance of the Transylvania Company, commonly called Ri'^'';'"' "^;;; 
dersonSf Co., diiecting the dispossal of the town of Hendesson and the out 

lots. 



256 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

" Be it resolved ajtd ordained. That the town of Henderson and all the land, 
lots, streets, apportionments and apartments thereof, lying on the River Ohio 
in the County of Christian and State of Kentucky, as laid off and surveyed by 
our agent, Samuel Hopkins, and our surveyor, Thomas Allen, agreeable to the 
plat or form by them made and to us returned with their certificate be, and 
the same is hereby established, that is to say, two hundred and sixty-four lots, 
meted and bounded, by the several streets thereon contained, of one acre each 
and thirty -two out lot meted and bounded and marked as described in the 
aforesaid certificates, be considered as the town aforesaid, and we do hereby 
for ourselves, our heirs and executors jointly and severally, give, grant and 
confirm all the lands meted, bounded and located in the plat and form aforesaid 
by the aforesaid agent and surveyor for the purposes of the said town, to be 
disposed of in the following manner : 

'•First. We give to all those male persons and theii heirs who may have 
settled at the Red Banks on or before the first day of May, 1794, who have 
built and improved and are now residing thereat, being then free and of full 
age, or to such free persons of full age as may occupy such building and set- 
tlement at the present time under assignment of the fiist settler, one lot of 
one acre each, provided such lot be improved in the same manner, and in the 
same time as shall herein be established for those who purchase under this or- 
dinance. And whereas, a speedy sett. ement of the town lots aforesaid will, in 
in our opinion, greatly enhance the value of the lands generally. We do hereby 
declare, that the lots composing the town as aforesaid, shall be sold by our 
agent or agerits so as best to promote such settlement, either by public or pri- 
vate sale, as to them or him shall seem proper, limited only as follows : 

" That every purchaser of an acre lot shall, within two years from the 
time of purchase, build thereon a framed, hewn or sawed log house, sixteen 
feet squai'e at least, with a good dirt, stone or brick chimney and plank floor, 
or shall reside thereon by himself or representative, etc., for the space of three 
years ensuing ; provided that the residence shall commence within one year 
from the time of the purchase, and in case of failure thereof, such lot shall 
be considered as reverting, and shall revert to the company, their heirs and 
assigns, and be liable to be disposed of for the uses herein expressed as if no 
sale or occupany had ever been made or had thereupon ; provided, that such 
original proprietor or his heirs, who shall purchase any number of lots, not 
exceeding four lots of one acre each in said town, shall not be obliged to im- 
prove or reside thereon as other purchasers, agreeably to the true intent and 
meaning of this ordinance. 

" And be it further ordained and directed. That any person purchasing a lot 
of ten acres, shall in like manner be obliged to improve, either by building, 
inhabiting or tending in some crop, for and during the term of three years ; at 
least one- half of said lot to commence from the term of two years. After 
such purchase such cultivation may be at the option of the purchaser as to the 
crop, and in case of failure herein, the holder or purchaser of said lot shall be 
subject to all the penalties and forfeitures incurred by the purchaser of the lots 
of one acre each. 

"And be it ordained, That one agent be appointed to sell and dispose of 
the lots in the town of Henderson, to receive the moneys or other considera- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 257 

tions tlierelbr, to make titles and transfers, to secure and appropriate forfeitures 
and in general to act in all things for the company according to the true intent 
and meaning of this ordinance, who Shall receive for his trouble five per centum, 
first, on all >ales, second, on all sales and collections and payments, and thirdly, 
on amercements or forfeitures that may accrue, and who shall enter into bond 
to the company for fulfilling his several duties, and in case of death, removal 
from office, resignation or refusal to act of the agent appointed, to the execution 
of this ordinance, it is directed that another be appointed, under the hands 
and seals of the copartners in Kentucky and of Henry Purviance, William 
Bailey Smitli and Samuel Hopkins, who are a majority of them, or the surviv- 
ors of them, shall make out such appointment, and take a bond for the faithful 
performance of otfice; and the commissioners aforesaid shall, at any time thev 
think proper, once in every year at least, cause the agent to produce his books 
and transactions subject to their inspection, and shall, upon unequivocal proof 
of incapacity or maltransaclion remove from oftice and appoint another in the 
manner herein prescribed. All bonds given by the agents shall be taken by 
the company, known by the name of Richard Henderson & Co. , and upon 
the forfeiture of any su h bond, the Commissioners heretofore nominated, shall 
cause the same to be prosecuted for the benefit of the company. 

"And be it further ordained, that once in every year the said agent shall, 
on application pay to each original proprietor, his private agent, attorney or 
assignee, his full proportion ot all moneys that may have been collected to that 
time, deducting from such amount only the commissions or per centum herein 
before allowed, and in case of tailure of the agent to so account and pay, or 
in case of a willful mistatement or willful wrong, such agent may be removed 
by a certificate thereof under the hands and seals of the Commissioners afore- 
said, or a majority of them, and sued on his bond by the party or parties so 
aggrieved 

'* And wiiereas it will be necessary, That frauds be guarded against in the 
most particular manner, it is hereby declared that every person applj ing to 
the agent for monejs on account of their principal, either as private agent, 
heir, attorney or assignees, or in any otlier character whatsoever, he shall 
produce from such principal a written evidence of the same, which shall be at- 
tested by the clerk of the county or corporation to which such principal be- 
longs, with the seal of the said county or corporation, and to this and no 
other evidence shall our agent hold himself justified in the payment of any 
moneys whatsoever; and in order that this ordinance shall be free to the in- 
spection of all and every person concerned, it is directed further, that the agent 
cause a copy thereof to be kept in the town of Henderson, and the signed and 
certified original to be made of record in the court of the county where said 
town lies. 

''And be it further ordained. That the portion of the Iftnd lying in the cen- 
ter of the town, as also the three roadways, as far as they. extend through the 
out or ten-acre lots of the town be considered as appropriated for public use 
and under the municipal jurisdiction of said town in trust for those uses and 
no other. 

l7 



2ri8 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

"And be it further ordained. Tint the .ngcnt or agents so appointed shall 
have full power and authority to contract with any person or persons for any 
lot or lots w iiliin the said town, and the same to sell either by public or private 
sale, and the same to make over in fee simple as fully and completely as the 
proprietors themselves could or might do were they and everj' one of them 
present. 

'* It is further ordained, That Samuel Hopkins be, and he is hereby ap- 
pointed agent for the execution of this ordinance, and is ve§ted with every 
power necessary for carrying into execution the same. 

•' And be it further directed, that all moneys that shall actually be neces- 
sary for recording or registering the deed of partition, this ordinance, or any 
other paper of a public nature, shall be paid by the agent out of the first 
moneys arising from the sale of the lots in the town atoresaid. and that the 
same be allowed as an exhibit in his account, as well as generally all expenses 
arising under the orders and directions of the company, or that may be neces- 
sary for carrying into effect this ordinance. 

" In testimony whereof, we, the aforesaid company, have hereunto set our 
hands and seals, this ninth day of August, one thousand seven hundred and 
ninety-seven. 

*' Signed and sealed in the presence : 

JOHN WILLIAMS. [L S ] 
JAMES HOGG, [L.S.] 
RICHARD BULLOCK, [L.S.] 
WALTER ALVIS, [L.S.J 
JO. HART, [L S.] 
JOHN UMSTEAD, [L.S.] 
HENRY PURVIANCE, [L.S.j 
• Attorney for Thomas Hart, 

NATH'L HART, [L.S ] 
L HENDERSON, [L. S ]" 



V ss. 



'< NORTH CAROLINA, 

Granville County,) 

'' We do hereby certify that this ordinance was signed, sealed and ac 
knowledged by the subscribers thereto, before us. Given under our hands and 
seals, this ninth day of August, 1797. 

"M. HUNT, }. P., [L.S.] 
"M, BULLOCK, J. P. [L.S,]" 

'» STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, } 
Granvillr County f 

*' I do hereby certify that the above signed, Memican Hunt and Micajah 

Bullock, Esquires, are, and were at the time of signing the above. Justices of 

the Peace for the county aforesaid, and that all due faith and credit ought to be 

paid to their signatures as such. 

"Given under my hand and the seal of the county aforesaid, this ninth 

day of August, 1797. 

"A. HENDERSON, Clerk." 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 269 

"STATE OF KENTUCKY, 



^-ss. 
Henderson County. 

'T, John David Haussman, clerk of the county aforesaid, being duly author- 
ized by law to receive, admit and record deeds and other writings in my office, 
do hereby ceretify that the foregoing ordinance, with the two certificates an- 
nexed, was produced to me in my office in the town of Henderson, by Samuel 
Hopkins, agent for Richard Henderson & Co., on the twenty^ninth day of 
October, 1799, and that the same is duly recorded 

' Given under my hand the day and year aforesaid. 

"JOHND. HAUSSMAN, C H C" 

From 1800 to 1819, twenty-nine lots were donated by General 
Hopkins, and one hundred and twenty-seven sold, John J. Audubon 
becoming the purchaser of four of them. Many of the aforesaid pur- 
chasers were non-residents, and when it is considered that General 
Hopkins was nineteen years in donating and selHng, for nominal 
sums, one hundred and fifty-six lots out of two hundred and sixty-four, 
it will be agreed that the growth of Henderson was distressingly slow. 

FIRST TAVERNS, ETC. 

The first licensed tavern of which we have any knowledge, was 
that granted Michael Sprinkle, Jr., to be kept in his log house, then 
standing on lot No. 15, where Barret & Co.'s factory now stands ; this 
license was granted by the second C'ounty Court, held in the county 
June, 1799. He was required to give bond in the sum of one hun- 
dred pounds that he would not permit gaming or any one to drink 
'■'' 77wre tha7i necessary,^' or to be guilty of any '■'■ scandelous or disorderly 
behavior^ At the same meeting of this court, Andrew Burke was ap- 
pointed surveyor of the streets of the town, and ordered, together 
with all of the male laboring tithables living in the town, to keep the 
streets in repair, and open the roadways through the same. 

Drs. Adam Rankin and James Hamilton came to Henderson in 
1800, and practiced their profession up to the time of their death 
some years afterwards. They were the first practicioners. The re- 
cords of the County Court from 1800 to 1816 are lost, as are also the 
records of the town from 1810 to 1823, therefore all official acts, 
associated with the history of the town during that time, are blotted 
out. This fact is mentioned here by way of apology for the absence 
of matter during those lost years. The first ferry license granted by 
the County Court, was to Jonathan Anthony in 1802, from the Town 
of Henderson to the Indiana Territory opposite. 



260 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

TOWN INCORPORATED. 

In 1810 the town was incorporated, having a population of one 
hundred and sixty persons, and a voting population of thirty-five. 
The first tax levy was twenty cents on the one hundred dollars of real 
property, and a specific tax upon several kinds of personal property. 

From 1784 to 1823, the following persons kept tavern in the town, 
in the order of their names : Mrs. Hannah Dunn, Samuel Bradley, 
Michael Sprinkle, Hugh McGary, Joseph Fuquay, James B. Brent, 
Ephraim Sellers, Peter Green. Jonathan Bradshaw, Joseph Cowan, 
William Anthony, Thomas Anderson, Joshua Mullin, James Gobin 
and Gabriel Holmes. The following ministers occasionally preached: 
James McGready and Samuel Hodge, the great revivalists, Daniel 
Banks, Daniel Comfort, James McMahon, Samuel Julian and John 
Dorris. The following physicians practiced : Adam Rankin, James 
Hamilton, Levi Jones, Owen Glass, Nathaniel Gaither, Henry Grant, 
Thomas J. Johnson. From 1784 to 1823, the following persons were 
identified with the business interests of the town : John Dunn, George 
HoUoway, Presly Thorton, William Anthony, Ephraim Sellers, George 
Holloway, Wilson Marshal & Co., Joseph Fuqua}^, Daniel Jones, 
Thomas Anthony, William and Samuel Bowen, John J. Audubon, 
Audubon & Bakewell, Philip Jett, Philip Barbour, Nicholas Horseley, 
Ingram & Posey, Richard Atkinson & Co., James M. Hamilton, Cap- 
tain Francis Walker, Moses Morgan, and Nimrod Bishop 

In the year 1811, Philip Barbour erected a one-story tobacco, 
hemp, cotton and pork warehouse, 35x60 feet, on lot No. 5, a portion 
of which is now occupied by Woodruff Hall. This was the first build- 
ing of the kind, or of any importance, built in the town up to that 
time. In 1812, Thomas Towles was appointed overseer of the streets, 
and an act was passed by the Legislature authorizing the Trustees of 
the town to levy and collect a tax, not exceeding sixty dollars. This 
same year the old Johnson brick, which stood on the corner of First 
and Main Streets, was built. 

SOLDIERS organized. 

In September of this year, the greater part of the military divis- 
ion of General Samuel Hopkins, organized to move against the Kick- 
apoo Indian villages in northern Indiana, rendezvous at Henderson, 
and marched overland to the scene of action. Among the many vol- 
unteers from Henderson, were Captain James Barbour and Robert 
Smith, father of the present County Clerk ; John King, father of our 
present respected citizen, P. H. King. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 261 

They were misled by guides, and after wandering over the prai- 
ries for some days to no purpose, were disbanded and returned home. 
Findins: the amount of tax for which the Trustees of the town were 
authorized to levy and collect,insi^cient,at the January session 1814,of 
the Legislature, an act was passed authorizing theTrustees to levy and 
collect " any sum, in any one year, not to exceed two hundred and 
fifty dollars." 

OLD BUILDINGS. 

In 1814 William and Samuel Bowen erected a large frame one- 
story tobacco inspection warehouse on lot No. 4, corner Second and 
Water Streets. During this year the following houses, yet standing, 
were built : The old Posey two-story brick, standing midway of the 
square, between Main and Water on Second Street, built by N. F. 
Ruggles, and occupied as a residence and storehouse. The old one- 
story frame on the corner of Fourth and Main, built by Rev. Daniel 
Comfort, and afterwards occupied in succession by William and Sam- 
uel Bowen, Nicholas Horsely and John J. Audubon, as a residence 
and storehouse, and then by A. B. Barrett, William S. Holloway and 
others as a residence. 

In the spring of 1814, Wyatt H. Ingram and Fayette Posey, un« 
der the firm name of Ingram & Posey, built a frame tobacco ware- 
house near the center of the square, and upon the ground now occu- 
pied by A. S. Winstead's storehouse, and in 1815 handled six hundred 
and eighty-four hogsheads of tobacco, while the Henderson warehouse 
on the corner below handled three hundred and eighteen. 

HARD TIMES. 

During this year, and for many years previous, money was very 
scarce, and the greatest privations were experienced on that account. 
A meeting of the citizens of the county was called to suggest a remedy. 

This meeting was held on Saturday, November 12, 1814, and was 
largely attended. Walter Alves was appointed chairman and Am- 
brose Barbour secretary. Waiter Alves, James Hillyer and Philip 
and Ambrose Barbour, were appointed to correspond with certain Lex- 
ington gentlemen, in regard to petitioning the Legislature for a score 
of bank charters. It was resolved to f)etition the Legislature for a 
charter for a bank at Henderson, and James Hillyer, Philip Barbour 
and William and David Hart prepared the petition. Philip and Am- 
brose Barbour, James Hillyer and Thomas Towles were appointed to 
attend the Legislature. A committee was appointed to raise funds to 
defray expenses and then the meeting adjourned. The committee, 



262 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

consisting of Thomas Towles and James Hillyer, attended the meet- 
ing of the Legislasure, and in the course of time a perfect flood of 
bank charters were passed, and among the number the " Bank of Hen- 
derson." This concern was organized with Captain Samuel Ander- 
son as president, and James Hillyer cashier. It commenced business 
in a log house, which stood on the southeast corner of Main and Sec- 
ond Streets, and delegated Captain Daniel McBride to visit Philadel- 
phia on horseback for the purpose of having their circulating notes 
printed. They then determined to erect a banking house, and to that 
end purchased the northeast corner of lot No. 49, and commenced the 
building in 1818 of the two-story brick now owned by Hugh Kerr, 
and occupied by Kerr, Clark & Co., as a tobacco office. The bank 
failed about the time, or just before the house was completed. The 
building was then purchased by Joseph Cowan and completed. It 
was originally a three story house, but owing to the insecurity of the 
upper walls the third-story was taken off and the house reduced to a 
two-story, as it is at the present time. This old landmark, from the 
time of its completion, up to the time it was purchased by Mr. Kerr, 
was used as a tavern, having been occupied by Joseph Cowan, Rob- 
ert Speed, James Hicks, Leonard H. Lyne, Mrs. Brent and others. 

In the spring and summer of 1819, Richard Atkinson & Co. estab- 
lished, about midway of the square, on the west side of Second, be- 
tween Main and Water Streets, a large tobacco warehouse, which was 
operated up to the year 1844. During this year Dr. James M. Ham- 
ilton owned and carried on a blacksmith shop located on the Public 
Square. 

TOWN ELECTION. 

Robert Terry, Obadiah Smith, Thomas Herndon, Captain Fran- 
cis Walker, were elected trustees of the town. The election was an 
exciting one, yet only twenty-one votes were polled. 

The candidates at this time were Robert Terry, Oba Smith, Thos 
H. Herndon, Lazarus Powell, Levi Barden, Captain F. E. Walker, 
William Williams, Robert Speed, Moses Morgan, W. H. Ingram. The 
voters were Robert Speed, Samuel Crosby, Joel Lambert, James Hill 
yer, Samuel Hopkins, J. B. Pollitt, Hancock Grigsby, William Jett, 
George Barnard, Obadia Smith, Bennett Marshall, Moses Morgan, 
Fayette Posey, James Wilson, Joshua Mullen, John A. Judah, William 
Williams, William Rankin, Ambrose Barbour, Jonathan Anthony, 
Daniel McBride, twenty-one all told. 

In 1820 Mrs. James B. Brent kept tavern in a little log house 
which stood on the corner of Third and Main Streets, the same ground 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 1263 

now being occupied by D. R. Burbank's factory. In this house, or in 
the road near by it, is where Captain Ed. McBride received his wound, 
which will go with him to his grave. The old shanty was afterwards 
familiarly known as Rat Castle, -s. 

OLD MAN SPIDEL 

Became known as the best tavern keeper in the town, and at that 
time occupied the old Johnson brick on the corner of Main and First 
Streets. Prior to this time he operated a slaughter house on the point 
of land opposite Powell Street on the river bank, and furnished the 
town with fresh beef, pork and mutton. 

The Legislature of 1820-21, as mentioned in a previous part of 
this work, chartered the Commonwealth Bank. The branch for this 
district was located at Hartford, in Ohio County. James Hillyer, 
father of our aged and respected fellow citizen, Judge P. H. Hillyer, 
was appointed a director for Henderson County, and as such had con- 
trol of the business of making loans and receiving moneys for that 
bank. He made frequent visits to Hartford for the purpose of get- 
ting money, and for paying money collected of borrowers. 

THE PUBLIC SQUARE. 

By the ordinance of the ninth day of August, 1797, the Transyl 
vania Company appropriated all of that territory in the center of 
the town bounded by Water, and Green and Upper First and 
Lower First, or Washington Streets, for public uses, and or- 
dained that it be under the municipal jurisdiction of the said 
town in trust for those uses and no other. A few vears thereaf- 
ter, General Samuel Hopkins, agent for the company, caused 
two acres to be surveyed oft" this plat, to be given the County of Hen- 
derson for public uses, and from that time a system of land grabbing 
was inauguated, and never settled until about eighteen years ago. 

In 1821 it was represented to the Legislature of the State that 
the citizens of Henderson County desired to sell a portion of the 
Public Square in the town for public convenience and public pur- 
poses, and, in conformity to that representation, an act was approved 
December 6, making it lawful for the County Court of Henderson, a 
majority of all the Justices of the county forming said court, to make 
such an order as to them might seem expedient for a sale and con- 
veyance of a portion of the Square, not exceeding one acre, the pro- 
ceed to be applied towards lessenmg the county levy. This was never 
done. 

The original Transylvania Company was composed of Richard 
Henderson, Thomas Hart, Nathaniel Hart, William Johnson, James 



264 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Hogg, John Williams, John Luttrell, David Hart and Leonard Henly 
Bullock, the first seven owning equal interest, being one-eighth each, 
and the last two owning one-sixteenth each. At the date of the or- 
dinance, August 9, 1797, only three of the original partners were liv- 
ing, namely, Thomas Hart, James Hogg and John Williams. The or- 
dinance was signed by John Williams, James Hogg, Richard Bullock, 
Walter Alves, John Hart, John Umstead and Henry Puviance, attor- 
ney for Thomas Haft, Nathaniel Hart and L. Henderson. 

CHARLES BUCK TROUBLES. 

In 1821, one Charles Buck, claiming to be the sole heir of John 
Luttrell, deceased, appeared on the ground and asserted claim to one- 
eighth part of the entire town of Henderson, including lots, streets, 
alleys and public grounds, and for the recovery thereof instituted ac- 
tion of ejectment in the Circuit Court against those who had pur- 
chased lots from General Samuel Hopkins, agent of the company. 
He denied the validity of the ordinance, and, also, that the town was 
legally established, or that the said ordinance was signed or pub" 
lished by persons having right or authority to make or publish the 
same. Pending this suit an arrangement and compromise was ef- 
fected between Buck and the citizens and lot owners, whereby the 
said Buck, in consideration of thirteen hundred and fifty dollars, dis- 
missed his bill, and by deed relinquished his entire claim to said lots, 
streets, alleys and public grounds to the citizens and lot holders. This 
thirteen hundred and fifty dollars constituted a fund raised by the lot 
owners, who had purchased from General Hopkins prior to the com- 
ing of Buck. Before the compromise between Buck and tlie lot own- 
ers, at least before the date of the deed, an allotment of in and out 
lots was made to him by order of the County Court. Buck claimed 
to hold, by deed, John Luttrell's one-eighth share in the grant made 
by the State of Virginia to Richard Henderson & Co. Edmund Tal- 
bott and G. Ormsby, Commissioners of the Court, allotted to him as 
his share, or eighth part, in or one acre lots, running serially from 
145 to 1/5, both inclusive, on Water Street Square, also on Main and 
Third Streets, from 193. to 220, inclusive. Also on Third and back 
streets, all of the lots by numbers in regular progression, from lot 237 
to 264, inclusive. Also, five lots on Main and Third Streets, making 
in all ninety-three lots of one acre each. Also, of out lo's of ten 
acres each, the following lots as numbered in said plat, viz.: Nos. 25, 
26 and 24, the lots now allotted or assigned to the said Buck as 
aforesaid, in and unto the aforesaid, in lots and out lots so numbered 
and stated above, are of the one acre lots numbered 217, 218, 219, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 265 

220, 258, 238, 289, 240, 237, 193, 194, 195 and 196, making thirteen 
lots of one acre each. Also, of out lot No. 26, his portion the quan- 
tity of three and three-quarters of an acre, and determined that he 
be entitled to receive and reco\5er of the other partners the sum of 
ten dollars sixty-two and a half cents as a balance due him in this al- 
lotment. 

In his deed to the citizens Buck relinquishes his claim alone to 
such lots as had been donated and sold by General Hopkins. 

The following is a copy of Buck's deed : 

" This indenture made this first day of July, 1825, between Charles Buck 
and Mary, his wife, of the County of Henderson and State of Kentucky of 
the one part, and George Morris. Nathaniel F. Ruggles, Daniel McBride and 
all other holders of lots in the town of Henderson, county aforesaid, of the 
other part. 

" Witnesseth, that whereas the said town was laid off at a place called the 
'* Red Banks " on the Ohio River, and the lots have been generally sold out or 
disposed of by the late General Samuel Hopkins in the character of an agent 
for Richard Henderson & Co., proprietors of the land on which the land is 
situated, and whereas the said Charles Buck hath commenced suits and asserts 
claim to, and interest in said town lots. In order to the quiet and final ter- 
mination of said Buck's claiin to the lots in said town hereafter expressed and 
set down, they, the said Charles Buck and Mary, his wife, of the first part, 
for the consideration aforesaid and the further consideration of thirteen hun- 
dred and fifty dollars in specie in hand paid by the said Morris, Ruggles. Mc- 
Bride and others, the holders and claimants of lots in the said town, of the 
second part, the said Charles l^uck and Mai'v, his ivife doth hereby relinquish, 
make over, assign and convey, and by these present hath relinquished, made 
over, assigned and transferred unto the several lot holders, claimants or occu- 
pants of lots or parts of lots in said town, according to the several port'ons or 
proportions they now hold or claim, and to their heirs and assigns forever all 
the right, tittle, interest, claim, and demand of them, the said Charles Buck 
and Mary, his wife, in and unto the said lots or parts of lots or parcels of 
ground in said town of Henderson, with all and singular their appurtinances 
thereunto belonging, or in anywise appertaining, together with all their inter- 
est in the fraction of ground in the center of the town called the " Public 
Square," and of all the several cross streets and streets above fourth cross 
street below the " Public Square," all of which together with the lots hereby 
intended to be conveyed, will be better explained or designated by the plan or 
plat of said town recorded in the office of Henderson County in Deed Book 
•' A," the only exception to the plan or plat aforesaid is that the street nearest 
the River Ohio, commonly called Water Street, is- agreed upon by all parties, 
shall be reduced to the width of one hundred and twenty-five feet instead of 
two hundred feet as marked out in said plat, to have and to hold, etc., etc." 

Hardly had this deed been signed and acknowledged and 
the lot owners permitted to take one long breath, before other Rich- 



266 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

monds appeared on the field of judicial controversy and asserted a 
claim to even more of the town than Buck had claimed. 

In the year 1S25, Amelia Alves, widow of Walter Alves, de- 
ceased, one of the signers of the ordinance of 1707, and William J. 
Alves, James Alves, Robert Alves, Haywood Alves, Walter Alves, 
Ann Henderson, late Ann Alves, Thomas Towles and his wife, late 
Elizabeth Alves, heirs of the said decedent, and Richard J. Hart, heirs 
of Richard Pienderson & Co., asserted claim to five-sixteenths of the 
town, including lots, streets, alleys and public grounds. They were 
about instituting suit when the Trustees and citizens of the town, all 
more or less personallv interested, became alarmed and held a o:reat 
public meeting at the Court House, at which they horned a proposi- 
tion remarkable for its liberality, especially as it did not cost anyone 
of them a single farthing. This meeting did not appoint a committee 
to confer with the new claimants, nor did they offer to take out of 
their own pockets a sufficiency of silver and gold to release their 
town lo s, but with modest liberality fell upon the following proposi" 
tion : 

PROPOSITION OF CITIZENS. 

•' We will give to Amelia Alves. the heirs of Walter Alves, deceased, and 
Richard G. Hart the following described property, to-\vit : To Richard G. 
Hart the upper half of lot No. 3, agreeably to an amended plat gotten up by 
themselves. (Lot No. 3 is the square bounded by Main and Water and Up- 
per First and Lower First or Washington Streets, the same one on which the 
Barret Mouse is located, and was a part of the Public Square donated for public 
uses ) To the Alves' heirs, Ann Henderson. Thomas Towles and wife, the re- 
maininghalf of the aforesaid lot No, 3 conveyed to Hart, and all that portion 
of the Public Square contained between Upper First and Lower First or 
Washington, and Flm and Green Streets, and numbered on their amended 
plal one and twjo. We will also petition the Legishiturc to reduce the width 
of Water Street from two hundred feet to one hundred and twenty-five, and 
will convey to Richard G. Hart and the above named heirs of Walter Alves. 
deceased, and Amelia Alves, heir of William Johnson, aU of our right title 
and interest in and to that portion of Water Street, which remains after reduc- 
ing said street to one hundred and twentv-five feet. We will also convey all 
of our interest in and to the streets below fourth cross street below the Public 
Square, for a relinquishment to us of all claims upon otir lots, purchased from 
General Samuel Hopkins, agent ot the company." 

It is represented that the meeting held at the Court House was 
attended by a large majority of the citizens and lot holders of the 
tOMm, and that a petition was prepared and and then signed by each 
man in the meeting, praying the Legislature to pass an act authoriz- 
ing the sale of that portion of the Public Square between Elm and 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 267 

Green, and Upper First and Lovver First Streets, the square between 
Main and Water and Upper and Lower First, and reducing Water 
Street from two hundred feet to one hundred and twenty-five feet in 
width. This proposition was tfien made to the claimants and by 
them accepted. 

Nothwithstanding the -ordinance of Richard Henderson & Co., 
made and signed, August 9, 1797, and the sale of lots thereunder, 
from 1800 to 1819, not one of the lot holders offered to contest the 
claim of Alves and Hart, nor did the Trustees of the town— who 
were interested parties. But they were willing to convey property 
which had been given for public uses and no other. Alves and Hart 
accepted the proposition of the citizens' meeting, and thereupon on 
the first day of July, 1825, the following indenture was entered into 
bv the citizens : 

CITIZENS TO ALVES AND OTHERS. 

"This indenture made and entered into this first day of July, 1825, be- 
tween the citizens and present lot holders of the town o^ Henderson of the 
one part, and Amelia Alves, WilHam J. Alves, James Alves, Robert Alves, 
Haywood Alves, Walter Alves, Ann Henderson, late Ann x\lves, Thomas 
Towles and his wife, late Elizabeth Alves, and Richard G. Hart of the other 
part, witnesseth that for and in consideration of certain rights relinquished by 
the parties of the second part to the parties of the first part bv deed of this 
date, also the further consideration of one dollar, the receipt of which is here- 
by acknowledged, the parties of the first part have this day bargained and sold, 
and by these presents doth bargain, sell, alien and convey unto the parties of 
the second part, the following described lots of land in the. following manner, 
to-wit : 

" That is the parties of the first part alien and convey unto Richard G. 
Hart of the second part, the upper half oi lot No. 3, agreeable to an amended 
plat of said town, herewith filed and made apart of this deed, being the upper 
half of that part of the Public Square contained between the first and second 
streets from the river, and parallel thereto, and the parties of the first further 
alien and convey ynto the Alves's. Ann Henderson, Thomas Towles and wife 
the remaining half of the aforesaid lot conveyed to said Hart, and all that 
portion of the Public Square contained between the third and fourth streets of 
said town trom the river, and numbered on the said amended plat by the num- 
bers two and three, and the said parties of the first part relinquish and convey 
un o the said Richard G. Hart and the above named heirs of Walter Alves, de- 
ceased, and the above named Amelia Alves, the heir ot William Johnson, all 
their right title and interest in and to all that portion of Water Street which 
remains after reducing said street to one hundred and twenty five feet, which 
they have derived under the ordinance ot Richard Henderson & Co., in estab- 
lishing said town, reserving to Nicholas Berthoud the land leased to Thomas 
Pears & Co., during the term of that lease, and it is understood that the par- 



268 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ties of the first part convey no interest which they have in and to any of the 
streets in said town, except Water Street aud the streets below fourth cross street be- 
hnv the Public Square. 

•' In testimony whereol we have hereunto set our hands and seals the day 
before mentioned, and it is further understood that all the cross streets run 
through to the river. 

ROBERT TERRY, [seal.] 
D. McBRIDE, [SEAL.] 
GEORE MORRIS, [seal.] 
WILLIAM D. ALLISON, [seal ] 
JOHN W. MOSELY, [seal.] 
YOUNG E. ALLISON, [seal ] 
RICHARD W7VLDEN. [seal.] 
W. SOAPER, [seal.] 
JOHN SPEIDEL, [seal.] 
BENNETT MARSHALL, [seal.] 
JAMES GOBIN, [seal ] 
JOEL LAMBERT, [seal.] 
WM. R. BOWEN, [SEAL.] 
JOHN H. SUBLETT, [seal.] 
W. H. INGRAM, [SEAL,] 
SAMUEL STITES, [seal.] 
CALEB FELLOWS, [seal.] 
JOHN J. TRUMPETER, [SEAL.] 
HORACE GAITER, [seal ] 
JAMES HILLYER, [seal ] 
GEORGE ATKINSON, [seal.] 
NATH'LF. RUGGLES, [seal.] 
WILLIAM ANTHONY, [SEAL.] 
SUSAN R. SHACKELFORD. [SEAL ] 
WESTON ANDERSON, [seal.] 
OWp]N GLASS, fsEAL.] 
DANIEL B. TAYLOR, [seal ] 
N C HORSLEY, [seal ] 
JOHN LOGAN, [seal] 
JOHN ANTHONY, [seal ] 
J. B. POLLITT, [SEAL.] 

"COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, ) 

r SS* ' 

Henderson County, i 

'■ This instrument ot writing was produced to me in my otiice on the 
ninth day of July, 1S25, and acknowledged by the grantors therein to be their 
act and deed for the purposes therein expressed. Whereupon this deed is 
duly recorded in my office. 

"Attest: WILL D. ALLISON, Clerk. 

'•Bv Y. E. Allison, D. C." 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 269 

In return for this kind act, on the part of the citizens, Messrs. 
Alves and Hart, and those associated with them, conveyed on the 
same day to the citizens certain lots, being with a few omissions and 
additions, the same lots conveyed a short time previous by Buck, and 
the same lots sold and donated to the lot holders by General Hop- 
kins. In addition to this, they relinquished all claim to the streets 
lying above fourth cross street lelow the " Public Square," but not 
below that street. Water Street was excepted, beyond one hundred 
and twenty-five feet in width. In this deed, was also included " Park " 
and " Court House " Square, as now located. 

Subsequent to this, to-wit : on the twentieth day of April, 1826, 
James Alves, who claimed by inheritance and purchase, that he was 
entitled to five-sixteenths of the river front, applied to the Countv 
Court for an allotment of his proportion of the land. The order was 
granted, and Edmond Talbott and George Ormsby, two of the Com- 
missioners appointed by the County Court of Henderson County to 
divide lands and make conveyance therefor, agreeably to the act of the 
General Assembly, proceeded to make the allotment, and by inden- 
ture conveyed the following described property : 

COMMISSIONERS TO JAMES ALVES. 

"' All those several tracts, parcels and lots of land situated in said 
Town of Henderson, as reduced by the Legislature in November, 1825, 
between the Ohio River and Water Street, lot of ground beginning 
at Mill Street, (now Second Street), and extending up to fourth cross 
street ; also lot lying at the upper end of the town opposite lots Nos. 
41 and 44, also one lot lying at the lower end of the town, and lying 
opposite lots Nos, 141 and 144. 

NOW THEN, 

In order to clinch this trade, and give to it a legal recognition, 
the Legislature was induced to pass the following act, which was ap- 
proved January 18, 1827. 

''Sectiox 1. Be it enacted, etc. That the front, or Water Street, in the 
ToAvn of Henderson be, and the same is hereby reduced to the width of one 
hundred and twenty-five feet. 

•'Sec. 2. That the arrangement made and entered into betwixt the cit- 
izens and lot owners, in the Town of Henderson, and Richard G. Hart. James 
Alves and others, whereby the citizens and lot owners aforesaid, relinquished 
portion of the Public Square and Front Street to said Hart, Alves and others, 
be, and the same is hereby ratified and fegalized, so far as it effects the tnterestz 
of the parties to the arrangement or compromise aforesaid," 



270 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The closing sentence of the act shows conclusively that the Leg- 
islature doubted the legality of the compromise, and ratified it only 
as to the parties interested, and not as to the public. 

By the terms, stipulations and agreements in the compromise, the 
limits of the town were reduced by act of the Legislature, approved 
November '21, 1825, and all that portion of the town below Fourth 
Street, below the Public Square, including the river front, streets and 
all, bcame vested in James Alves and other parties to the compromise, 
and has been held in peaceable and adverse possession from that 
date. 

Thus, it will be seen that the Trustees and citizens of the town, 
in 1825, saved their own town lots, which had been donated, or pur- 
ch.ised for a nominal sum by bartering away property donated for pub- 
lic uses, and in which each one of them had no more interest than 
any citizen now- has in the Public Square, yet left in the town. 
Equally as unheard of, the sulisequent Trustees acquiesed in the 
compromise until the supposed statute of limitation estopped the town 
from asserting title or claim to any part except the riverfront. Not 
satisiied with giving up two-thirds or more of the public ground do- 
nated by Richard Henderson & Co., the citizen lot holders gave up 
so far as it was in their power the river front. They bought Buck off 
by paying him thirteen hundred and fifty dollars, because he would 
not compromise for land, which did not belong to them. They com- 
promised with Alves and Hart because they were willing to take this 
land — and were perhaps glad to do so — ^and because they did not de- 
mand money, and again, it was an easier matter for the lot holders to 
pay in something which did not belong to them than something which 
did. 

In 1850, the Trustees of the Towm of Henderson contracted with 
William B. Vandzandt for widening or enlarging the wharf or passage- 
way down the bank at the foot of second cross street. At that time 
Water Street was under the agreement between the citizens and lot 
owners, and Alves and Hart, recognized to be only one hundred and 
tvventy-flve feet in width, and the strip of land seventy-five feet or 
more in width, extending out beyond the street, was claimed by James 
Alves. When Vandzandt began excavating this strip of land for the 
purpose of carrying out his contract, he was enjoihed by James Alves, 
and that brought up the full question of title. The Trustees of the 
town, to-wit : Dr. Thomas J. Johnson, John McBride, David Clark, 
William S. Holloway, William B. Vandzandt and George M. Priest, 
in answer to the cross bill filed against them by Vandzandt, denied 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COTNTY, KY. 271 

the title claimed by Alves, and made their answer a cross bill ag inst 
him, and prayed that he be made a defendant thereto, and compe'led 
to exhibit his title to said strip of land. They asked that the respect- 
ive rights of Alves and the town be adjudicated, and that a decree be 
granted forever quieting the title of the town, and that he be enjoined 
and restrained from asserting claims or interfering with the use and 
quiet possession of the same by the public, and the said Town of 
Henderson. A number of depositions were taken on both sides and 
of course, the "- old sell oiif or compromise, made 'by the citizens and 
lot owners in 1825, was thoroughly ventilated. 

The follo'wing interrogatory and answer, bearing upon this sub- 
ject is found in the deposition of Rev. Joel Lambert: 

"•Question. — What reason had jou for paying off Buck with your individ- 
ual money, and buying off Alves' claim by conveying to him land dedicated 
to public uses — why did you make the difference? 

"■Answer. — The reason I consented to pay Buck money to extinguish his 
claim was, he would only take money oj w^, and the reason I consented to make 
distinction between them, Mr. KUeazvould lake thai claim and release me " 

Also, in a deposition of Samuel Stites, who was Chairman of the 
Board of Trustees of the Town, the following interrogatory and an- 
swer is found : 

^'Question by James Alves. — Did you not own some property in 1825, when 
the compromise was made with Charles Buck, and did you not pay your pro- 
portionable part of the money raised to pay Buck for his relinquishment of 
claim upon the lots in the Town of Henderson .? 

"^.— In 1825 I had but little property in town! I contributed some money 
to get Charles Buck to relinquish his claim upon the town lots. I signed the 
deed of compi-omise (^as it is called), which was entered into in 1825, between 
the citizens and lot holders ot the Town of Henderson, and Alves and Hart. 
I signed said deed merely to quiet matters, I did not consider my signing the 
deed oi any value, having no claim to convey and so stated at the time." 

Dr. Owen Glass testified in answer to the question : 
" At whose instance and by what authority did you sign that deed.? 
" I declare J do not recollect now, I signed iX. as a favor to whoevar asked it, 
as men usually sign petitions, without feeling any personal interest or refection of 
any kind. 1 felt \villing to do anythmg in my power to settle the disputes ot the 
town." 

William D. Allison testified : 
'• There were several actions of ejectment depending in the court at the 
dateof the deed to Charles Buck, and I understood that the object of the ar- 
rangement was mentioned as a compromise of Buck's claim to the town lots. 1 
felt no personal interest in the matter at the time, and signed the deed merely 
as a favor to whoever requested j?ie, just as men sign petitions without consider- 



272 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ing the eft'ect, / remember hearing of some objection made, that the citizens had no 
poiver to convey the streets ajid Public Square. I did not know that Alves claimed 
any part of the town lots, until the deed wa$ presented, but had heard it spoken 
of as a compromise of Buck's claim. Heard Buck say that he (Buck) had car- 
ried ihe " l)lack log," and others got all the town property. Thid hehore the 
odinni of disturbing the titles, and got nothing lor it " 

Y. E. Allison testified : 

*' Deponent would state that he moved to this place in September, 1824, 
at that time one Charles Buck had sundry suits in ejectment pending in the 
Henderson Circuit Court against persons in the country to recover an interest 
which he claimed in Henderson & Co.'s Giant, derived from one Luttrell 
Deponent recollects welT of hearing George Morris and many other citizens of 
the town talk about Buck's suits ruining the prospects of the town and county ; 
that unless Buck's claims could be quieted the place never would improve, 
that no man would buy property here, with the almost positive certainty of be 
ing sued for it. Things went on that way until some time the next summer, 
then the said George Morris and Nathaniel F.Ruggles, hit upon apian, as the 
thought, to quiet Buck's claims against the town. The plan was for the cit- 
izens and lot holders of the town to sell and convey to Buck, ten acres of the 
Public Square, and all that part of the river front, which lay between the first 
range of lots and the river, after reducing Water Street to one hundred and 
twenty -five feet, and Buck to con\'ey to the citizens and lot holders all the in- 
terest w^hich he claimed to any lot or lots in said town, lying above fourth 
cross street, below the Public Square. After discussing this plan some time, 
the said Morris, Ruggles and others set about carrying their plan into operation; 
thev talked with the most extensive land holders about town, and entreated 
them to come forward and assist in quieting Buck's claims. Justat this point, I 
first learned that Alves and Hart had claims against the town, as well as 
Buck, and it was said, they were waiting to see how Buck would come out; 
that if he succeeded, they would sue for their interests, said to be much larger 
than Buck's. The plan of compromise was then changed, in this, that the ten 
acres of the original Public Square, and that portion of the river front before 
spoken of, was to be conveyed to Alves and Hart, and a sum of money raised 
by the citizens and lot holders, to be paid to Buck to extinguish his claim. De- 
ponent was then deputy clerk of the Henderson County Court, and when the 
deed of compromise was drawn up and ready for execution, he (in com- 
pany with the late Captain Daniel McBride, who went with him. and collected 
what money was to be raised for Buck, or to make such arrangements in tak- 
ing notes as satisfied Buck), went round and waited on most of the signers to 
said deed at their residences and places of business They all signed it cheer- 
fully. The said compromise was entered into in good faith, for the purpose of 
quieting the titles to town property, and everybody seemed to be not only sat- 
isfied, but delighted with the arrangement. 

"James Alves has regularly listed said property for taxation, ever since 
1840, and has as regularly paid the tax on the same up to, and including the 

year 1852." 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 27^ 

These gentlemen were among the citizens who signed the deed 
to Alves and Hart, and no doubt all of the other signers were gov- 
erned as they were, except those largely interested, and they were 
looking out for self-interest, of course. A short time after the com- 
promise, Mr. Alves caused the two squares between Upper First and 
Lower First, and Oreen and Elm Streets, to be fenced in with rails, 
and for one or two years cultivated the two in tobacco or corn. 

From 1832, he sold and leased lots, and annually assessed the 
property for taxation. While it was generally believed that his claim 
against the town really amounted to nothing, yet he and Hart were 
permitted to hold the three squares, the two back of Elm and the one 
between Main and Water, without molestation by the town authori- 
ties or any citizen. 

On the tenth day of February, 1827, Richard G. Hart sold to 
John Spidel one-half of the square now occupied by the Barrett 
House, and during that year Spidel built two stories of the main 
house now standing. The house was originally two stories. In the 
suit concerning the river front, the court held that the deed from the 
citizens to James Alves did not pass title, but that the property be- 
longed to the public. The case was taken to the Court of Appeals, 
and in July, 1855, Judge Marshall affirmed the decree. Thus ended 
a hot\v contested controversy, resulting in breaking up one of the 
most amusing, if not unheard of, bargains and sale ever entered upon 
the records of a county deed book. No blame can attach to James 
Alves and Richard G. Hart, however, for they w£re fortunate in get- 
ting what they claimed without much persuasion or threatening, and 
it would have been no more than natural for them to have accepted 
the whole town if the Trustees and citizens had so deeded it. 

On the fourteenth day of October, 1854, the Trustees of the town 
instituted suit against the executors of James Alves, and other per- 
sons who held title under him, by purchase, for that portion of the 
Public Square deeded to him by the citizens in 1825. This suit was 
tried, and the claim of the defendants established by right of posses- 
sion. It was thought now that all disputes concerning the title to our 
public grounds were finally and forever settled, but in 1859, as will be 
seen in the preceding history, the County of Henderson laid claim to 
the strip of land running from Center Street to first upper cross 
street, and lying immediately in rear of the Court House. There 
was a long and hotly contested suit between the county and the town, 
but the latter was successful. The city now claims, and has left of 

18 



274 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the five beautiful squares and streets, the Public Square between Main 
and Elm and Center and first lower cross streets, and the little 
strip of ground in rear of the Court House, and may safely congratu- 
late herself she has that much. 

This Public Square has never been put to the use for which it 
was donateci, technically speaking, yet it has cost a considerable sum 
of money at various times. I'hj old Union Church, the first church 
ever built in the town, stood upon its graceful hill side, from its build- 
ing, away back in 1825, to the time of its tearing down. Calvin Sugg, 
William Wurnell, and a half dozen others, were hung beneath its 
shades. Hundreds of country horses, teams, etc., have found a pleas- 
ant hitching place there, and many a circus tent has been pitched 
upon it, and many a side-splitting laugh indulged at the turn and wit 
of the clowns, old Dan Rice among the number. 

In 1856, this poor, neglected spot received the attention of the 
city fathers, as a sort of paliative for the negligence of the past. It 
had been permitted to wash, and wash, until not only the street, but 
half of the square had washed into the Ohio River; this half, how- 
ever, had been put to public uses, for during the winter months it was 
a favorite resort for skatorial enthusiasts, and during the summer for 
small fish and frog anglers. In 1856 it was filled up, and early in 
the spring of 1857 fenced, for the first time, with a plank fence.* This 
evidence of progress and good taste was sufficient to unloose all of 
the pent up poetry and sentiment of Judge J.Willie Rice, who at that 
time was a contributor to the columns of the Reporter, over the pe- 
culiar nom deplume "Squibob." "Squibob" wrote as follows : 

" THE PUBLIC SQUARE. 
** ' Squibob ' rejoices to announce to the belledom, and the buckdom of 
Henderson, that the Public Square is in process of improvement that the in- 
tense Ibngings of their hearts are ere long to be realized, that 'neath the soft 
moonlight of a summer's sky, whilst sweet flowers cast their incense upon the 
breeze, and pearly dew drops glisten on the leafy branches, they can sit at 
eventide and tell their vows of eternal love. But, gallant youths and fair 
maidens, let not the bright scene which imagination would picture, or the de- 
light with which fancy vrould invest so romantic a trysting place, repress for 
the present the feelings that well up in your hearts. The young trees, with all 
their virginal beauty, possess yet naught of the romance characteristic of love's 
recesses, while the grassy slopes and graveled walks as yet lend no beauty to 
that spot which hereafter will be hailed as an ' Elysium on earth.' If Squi- 
bob's heart were thrilled by the holy passion of love, he would not wait for 
* the good time coming,' with its dew drops and moonlight, but would ' work 
while yet it is day.' Though such scenes, commemorated and embellished by 
novelists of all times, possess an interest for the romance of his heart, he says 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 275 

to his voung friends, wait not for the dim tuture in the bright noonday of the 
present. Those who are yet in the early spring time of youth can watch the 
grass as it decorates the 'square' wiih its verdure, and count each leaf and 
twig as Ihey add new beauty to the scene. When, within its lovely confines, 
each one has wooed and won the maiden of his choice, he will raise his heart 
in thanks to the ''City Fathers' whohave provided so sweet a spot. Aryi when 
hereafter he will pass that grove, with his dear one on his arm, and prattling 
infancy bv his side, he may well exclaim in sweet accents : 
*• Dost thou remember that place so lonely, 

A place for lovers, and lovers only, 

Where first I told thee all my secret sighs } 

When, as the moonbeams that trembled o'er thee, 

Illumed thy blushes, I knelt before thee, 

And read m^' hope's sweet triumph in those eyes. 

Then, then, while closely heart was drawn to heart, 

Love bound us never, never more to part." 

" Squibob " was evidently a man of taste, and pictured in his 
poetic way what should have been done, but never was, until this 
good year, 1887. The surface of the long-neglected ground has 
echoed the matchless eloquence of early preachers. It has been the 
scene of sorrow and sadness, as it has been the scene of joy and 
gladness. It has been a camping ground of the soldiery. It has 
been hacked and abused, and to-day, after a varied life of eighty- 
seven years, stands before the eyes of the citizens (owing to their re- 
cent liberality) a beautiful park, inclosed by a handsome iron fence, 
a gift from the county through the good taste of its Magistrates. It 
is otherwise adorned and beautified, and in the course of tim-^. will 
become a lovely spot. Thus, " Squibob's " poetic dream has become 
an actuality. 

UPS AND DOWNS. 

From 1810 to 1830, indeed we might say up to 1867, Hender- 
son seems to have struggled with perilous travail for a mere existence. 
All accounts go to show that her progress was rather of the retro- 
grade and backward nature. The river bank was a source of im- 
mense annoyance, and all the while the system of engineering was 
most brutal and suicidal. Ditches were dug down Water Street to 
First, and in Elm to Main and down Main to Lower First, as a sys- 
tem of drainage. They were dug down Third to Water, and down 
Fourth to Water, and in every instance where the oulet was there 
was a wash made in a short time which it would take thousands of 
yards of earth to replace. Thus it was that all of the ugly ravines, 
gradually but slowly working their way into the very heart of the 
town, were made. Water Street, with the exception of the two 



276 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

squares between First and Third Streets, was entirely washed away, 
and since 1867 has been refilled. 

In every instance these ravines have been made by the foolish 
engineering of the ^arly trustees and citizens of the town. The ra- 
vine between Main and Water on Lower First Street, was made in 
that way, and at one time had swallowed up one-third of the now 
Public Square. The entire street between Main and Water on Lower 
Fourth Street, has by this same foolish system been washed away, and 
is now an immense ravine, which, if ever filled up, will cost an untold 
amount of money. 

The principal items of outlay were for protecting the river front 
and for ditching and draining the low and unhealthy grounds that lay 
in and around the town in all directions. The tax duplicate increased 
but little and every year the delinquent list was alarmingly large. 

In these early times the town was populated by a well-to-do 
class, socially speaking the equal of any in the west, but commer- 
cially speaking old-foggyish, cynical and selfish. Of course this latter 
remark is not intended to apply to the community at large, but to a 
large class who persistently opposed every progressive movement 
where that movement encroached upon their rights or pocketbooks. 
There was seemingly no disposition to shove the struggling town 
along, but an evident feeling of self-satisfaction at its normal condi- 
tion, therefore, no public enterprise met with much favor, but was 
rather given the cold shoulder by what was commonly denominated the 
" nabobs " of the town. In a deposition of Mr. Samuel Stites, taken 
in 1853, is the following bit of early history, which is conclusive upon 
this proposition : 

Mr, Stites was asked to state what occurred on the occasion of 
an attempt or negotiation in regard to the erection of glass works 
many years ago. He answered : " In the year 1817 or 1818, a 
member of the firm of Page & Bakewell, extensive manufacturers of 
Pittsburg, visited this place and spoke of establishing a manufactory 
of glass here, provided they could obtain a suitable lot lying between 
the river street and the river. Several of our citizens went with him 
to the bank of the river to view the ground. I was along, and recol- 
lect distinctly that one of the signers of the ordinance of 1797 was also 
one of the number. The citizens generally were in favor of accom- 
modating them, or that the town corporation should do so, believing 
that it would greatly promote the prosperity of the place. Some 
thought that the town authorities could make them a title to the 
ground, others that it would require an act of the Legislature, and I 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 277 

recollect distinctly that the 'signers of the ordinance of 1797 ' vio- 
lently opposed it, alleging that the ground or space between the river 
street and the river should be kept open. That those who had pur- 
chased lots on the street did so with the understanding that no ob- 
struction should ever be placed between them and the river, and that 
neither the town authorities or State Legislature could deprive them 
of that right. I recollect too that many of the citizens were a good 
deal displeased at the opposition shown by this man." 

The Pittsburg gentleman, who had come to invest largely in the 
town, left it thoroughly disgusted. He was satisfied with the sand, 
the site and all, but the apparent lethargy and grumbling of such men 
as mentioned by Mr. Stites, settled the matter so far as Henderson 
was concerned. If the argument advanced by the signers of the or- 
dinance of 1797 held good in 1817, it most assuredly did not in 1825, 
when the citizens and lot owners signed a deed, not only to the 
streets and public grounds, but to tl-we entire river front. 

But then the reader must not forget that the two propositions were 
entirely unlike in their bearings. The proposition of 1817 was to receive 
an indirect benefit to the entire population, by encouraging the erection 
and operation of a large glass manufactory, while the proposition of 
1825 was to repurchase the lots of a few by deeding away public 
grounds in which they were only interested as citizens and had no 
right to convey. 

In 1835 or 1837, Samuel Orif, for many years a progressive, lead- 
ing and influential citizen and capitalist of Evansville, and one who did 
as much as any one person to build up that flourishing city, came to 
Henderson from Pittsburg for the purj)ose of establishing a pork 
house. 

He had ample means at his disposal to buy land and erect build 
ings, but met with no liberal encouragement. Land was priced to 
him enormously high, and no disposition to sell even at exhorbitant 
prices. He left Henderson and went to Evansville, where all of the 
land he required, and temporary buildings erected thereon, were 
freely given him without charge or price. 

It is a settled fact that the early inhabitants, while hospitable and 
clever, were yet land sharks, with a confirmed idea of the respecta- 
bility of a large landed estate, and a determination to hold to or re- 
ceive four or five times its value. In very many instances to hold, 
no matter what price might be offered. For that reason, Henderson 
failed to witness more than a natural increase of population for many 
years and was left far behind by many of her neighbors. 



278 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. '| 

Lot 59 was set apart in the early settlement of the town as a 
cemetery, and within that one acre were buried the remains of a large 
majority of those who died from 1800 up to 1849. While there is no 
deed from General Samuel Hopkins to the Trustees of the town or 
to the citizens, it is a self-evident fact that the lot was intended for a 
public burial ground and was so given. 

An act of the Legislature was passed incorporating the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian Church. The church building was erected on the 
northwest corner of lot No. 58, adjoining the alley, from the fact, per- 
haps, the land cost nothing, and from the further fact, perhaps, that 
in those times it was fashionable to have churches near burial grounds 
or burial grounds near churches. 

In 1849 an act was passed incorporating the the Trustees of the 
" Henderson Cemetery," now known as Fernwood. And several 
years thereafter most of the remains of those to be found in the old 
cemetery were removed to the grounds purchased by the new com- 
pany. 

DuVing the 1822 term of the Legislature power was given to the 
Trustees of the town to levy and collect by taxation a sum not to ex- 
ceed fi\e hundred dollars. Incorporated in this same act was a sec- 
tion regulating the tax le\ ied upon the property of non-residents. It 
was enacted, " That whenever any part of the tax levied upon prop- 
erty shall be assessed upon lots of non-residents, if not paid when 
due, the same shall be advertised fof three months, and if not paid, 
the lot or lots shall be forfeited, but may be redeemed in three years 
by the payment of triple the amount for which such lot was sold and 
double the tax for every year the lots may remain unredeemed, with 
legal interest and cost of advertising." 

This one-sided law amounted to confiscation, and whether it was 
ever enforced cannot be determined. John Green was allowed the 
sum of twenty-two dollars for collecting the June tax for 1822. 

1823. 

RECORDS OF THE TOWN — DOINGS OF THE YEAR, ETC.— FIRST 

NEWSPAPER. 

With this year the records of the town begin, and on the fifteenth 
day of September, the following persons were present, and constituted 
the Board of Trustees : Nathaniel F. Ruggles, Levi Jones, John H. 
Sublitt, Samuel Stites and James H. Lyne; William D. Allison clerk. Dr. 
Levi Jones and Nathaniel F. Ruggles were appointed commissioners 
to have the town resurveyed and laid off, and two hundred dollars 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 279 

appropriated for that purpose. The meetings of the Board of Trustees 
were held monthly, on the first Friday in each month at the Court 
House. Thomas H. Herndon was appointed Captain of the pafol 
for the year, and his salary fixecl at twenty dollars. He was also al- 
lowed the sum of four dollars eighty-seven and a half cents for whip- 
ping slaves by order of the Magistrate The ponds around Court 
Square had become a source of great annoyance, and the ditches here- 
tofore dug for the purpose of draining them, had become great ditches 
with perpendicular sides caving with every rain. A great part of the 
revenue was used for bridging these ditches and putting a stop to fur- 
ther encroachments into the roads or streets. Early in the year, the 
first newspaper was established in Henderson. It was the " Colum- 
bian^' published by William R. Abbott, and printed by Josh Cunning- 
ham, at that time a practical printer as well as graceful writer. This 
paper was published for many years, and was finally merged into the 
" South Kentuckian" under the management of W. R. Abbott and C. 
W. Pennell. 

1824. 

The Trustees determined it was necessary to the commercial in- 
terest of the town, that a landing should be provided, and to this end 
contracted with Robert Terry and N. C. Horseley, for the building of 
a thirty foot cut, through the foot of Sieam Mill Street as it was then 
known. This landing was known as Steam Mill Wharf. These names 
were derived from Audubon & Bake well's mill, now a part of Clark's 
tobacco factory. The landing was nothing more than a cut through 
the river bank, and owing to its being all sand, was a source of con- 
tinual annoyance from washes. In order to protect it, the Trustees 
ordered timbers to be sunk in the ground, and lapped or pinned in the 
middle, running oblique to the top of the bluff bank to protect it 
against washing. Before the lower tier of timbers had been laid, a 
heavy rain came, and had it continued much longer, the whole bank, 
timbers and all, would have been washed into the river ; as it was, great 
damage was done and most of the work had to be done over anew. 
Instead of excavating, great fills had to be made. Finally the land- 
ing was completed and received, and Nathaniel F. Ruggles appointed 
harbor master at a salary of twenty-five dollars per annum It was a 
most difficult matter at that time, to determine upon an equitable sys- 
tem of taxation, and frequent committees were appointed to investi- 
gate, and suggest the best plan. On February 2, 1824, a committee 
consisting of Samuel Stites and Nathaniel F. Ruggles, reported a plan 
as follows ; "Having matured the subject, we report as follows : that 



280 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

a tax of fifty cents be levied on each white male over twenty-one years 
and on all blacks over sixteen years, which we estimate will yield 
sixty dollars, and further, that a tax of twenty-five cents each be levied 
on one hundred and eleven lots lying in the north section of the town, 
and on sixty-nine lots lying in the south section. That a tax of one 
dollar and twenty-five cents be levied on sixty lots; that a tax of three 
dollars be levied on fifteen lots lying north of the Public Square, and 
sixteen dollars be levied on eight lots; that a tax of one dollar and 
twenty five cents be levied upon each ten-acre lot." 

ORDINANCE PASSED. 

At this meeting of the Trustees, several ordinances were j^assed 
for the better regulation of the revenues of the town. Among the 
number was an ordinance making it unlawful for any owner, agent, 
consignee or commander of any boat or craft, to vend any goods, 
wares or merchandise, by retail at any of the landings of the town, 
without first procuring a license to do so, the said license being fixed 
at twenty dollars for three months, and only during the daytime ; also 
making it unlawful for any peddler or itinerant person to sell without 
having procured a license, which was fixed at five dollars for one 
month. Another ordinance was passed, making it unlawful for any 
person to erect buildings or any obstructions whatever in the streets, 
and requiring all persons to apply to the Surveyor of the town for cor- 
rect lines. For a violation of this ordinance, the party offending 
should, upon conviction, pay a fine of five dollars per day so long as 
the obstruction was permitted to remain. Another ordinance made it 
a penalty for any one to take sand from the river front, without first 
having obtained permission from the '' Harbor Master," and for a 
violation, a penalty of five dollars attached for each and every offense. 

James Rouse was appointed collector of the town tax, and re- 
quired to execute a bond of one thousand dollars, and his salary fixed 
at twenty-five dollars. The disposition of land grabbers to fence up 
streets and public highways had been made so manifest, it became 
necessary for the Trustees to ride over the tawn every two or three 
days, in order to keep up with this notoriously greedy class. Charles 
Buck, who had set claim to a great part of the town was conspicuous 
among this number of men. The Trustees had passed frequent or- 
ders in specific cases, but in order to cover all, a general order was 
passed May, 1824, directing all persons under penalty, to remove their 
fences from off of the streets by the first day of January, 1825. 

The salary of the Town Clerk was fixed at twenty five dollars, 
and, whereas, it was found inconvenient to collect the tax on frac- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 281 

tional parts of many of the lots, the Trustees at their July meeting 
ordered the Collector to collect on all such lots at the rate of four 
cents per foot, fronting on each street. Robert Speed was granted 
permission to mal<e .brick on thePublic Square, on a part of the ground 
now occupied by the Barrett House, provided he would enter into 
bond of five hundred dollars penalty to grade first cross street to a 
level from Main or market, as it was then called, to Water Street. At 
the August meeting the following ordinance was passed : "Ordered, 
that from and after this time, no person shall be permitted to bathe in 
the Ohio River between the steam mill landing and Mrs. Husband's 
landing, between sunrise and sunset, under the penalty of five dol- 
lars, if a white person, and fifteen lashes, well laid on, by the Town 
Sergeant, if a colored person." 

Nathaniel F. Ruggles was allowed forty-three dollars and seventy- 
five cents for work done on the bridge across the ditch, near the steam 
mill landing. This allowance will give some idea of the immensity of 
the ditches at that time on the public roads or streets. At this time, 
there was an immense pond near the seminary lot, and all of that ter- 
ritory between Elm and Green Streets, and above Upper Third, was 
a flat, covered with water during most of the year. From Rev. Joel 
Lambert's residence, then immediately in the rear of David Clark's 
present home, pedestrians were compelled to foot it to the upper end 
of the town before a crossing to Main Street could be had Samuel 
Stites, N. F. Ruggles and George Morris, were appointed commis- 
sioners to contract for the draining of the pond near the seminary 
and the flat on back street, and to superintend the work necessary to 
secure the outlet of the ditch leading from said pond and flat. 

Over one hundred dollars was appropriated for building bridges 
over ditches, during the month of September, and double the amount 
for draining ponds in various parts of the town. This being true, can 
it be wondered that Henderson was so unhealthy. From 1822 to 182(5 
Gobin & Webster and Leonard H. Lyne, had blacksmith shops on the 
Public Square, and James Rouse, a slaughter house, for the use of 
which, they paid the town five dollars each. 

1825. 
A new act concerning the town was passed by the Legislature, 
and approved by the Governor, November 21. This act has been re- 
ferred to before as the one in which Buck, Alves and Hart took a 
lively interest. It is the act which reduced the limits of the town, 
and turned over to Alves and Hart all of the lots below fourth lower 
cross street, including streets and riverfront. It also conferred upon 



282 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the Trustees the power to levy any amount of taxes on said town, not 
exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars. It also provided that when 
a party owing taxes failed to pay by the appointed time, the Collector 
should advertise one month and proceed to sell all of the lot or lots, 
or enough thereof, to cover the taxes, costs and ten per cent, for sell- 
ing. It also provided for the redemption of the property by payment 
of the purchase money, with interest thereon at the rate of fifty per 
cent, per annum. It provided for the laying off of the streets into 
precincts, and the appointment of surveyors thereof. It required 
every male, over eighteen years of age, within the bounds, or who was 
allotted to a surveyor, to labor on said streets any number of days 
not exceeding six in each year, or two days in any one month, and in 
case of failure or refusal, a fine of five dollars was to be assessed 
and collected. It required the Trustees to hold at least three stated 
meetings in every year, to wit: on the first Saturday in May, July, 
and October, and assessed a fine of five dollars upon any Trustee for 

failure to attend. 

1826. 

On the fourth day of Ma}^, Samuel Calvan Sugg was hung in the 

Public Square for the murder of Elijah Walton. 

The old Union Chuich, the first house built exclusively for reli 
gious worship, was erected this year on the Public Square, and stood 
on the hill almost opposite the present residence of Nick Becker, on 
Lower First, between Main and Elm Streets. 

There were but two meetings of the Town Trustees held during 
this vear. From the following record it would seem that the official 
board of the town, as 'well as the citizens, were at outs: "Be it re- 
membered, that a Board of Trustees could not be convened agree- 
ably to an act of Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, passed 
at the session of 1825, to pass the necessary ordinances for the bet- 
ter regulation of the town. The Trustees, however, feeling a dispo- 
sition to do all that was necessary, when it was practicable to obtain 
a meeting, did meet on the third day of July, 1826, and passed ordi- 
nances which, if carried into effect by the united efforts of the citi- 
zens, would have made all the repairs nscessary for the convenience 
and good order of the town. But finding their acts were not techni- 
cally supported by the existing laws, and some of the citizens, through 
lethargy, idleness, and a want of public spirit, refused to unite their 
aid in support of measures for their common benefit. Therefore, be 
it ordained, that the ordinances passed at the said last meeting be 
and are hereby repealed ; and thereupon Nathaniel F. Ruggles, Sam 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 283 

iiel Stites, George Morris and John W. Mosely resigned." There were 
no more meetings from this day, to wit, July 7, 1826, to May 9, 1827. 

^.1827. 

On the fifth day of May an election was held, and VViatt H. In- 
gram, Nathaniel F. Ruggles, George Atkinson, John Spidel and Wil- 
liam D. Allison were duly elected Trustees for the ensuing year. 

The Board met May 9, and organized. The streets of the town 
were then divided into three precincts, and Joel Lambert, Abram 
Scott and Dr. Owen Glass appointed surveyors. 

A general turnout of all the males of the city of legal age with 
spades, picks, etc., was ordered, as will be seen from the following : 
" Ordered, that Joel Lambert, Abram Scott and Dr. Owen Glass 
warn the hands in their respective precincts to meet on Tuesday 
morning next, the fifteenth, just at sunrise, if fair, if not, on the next 
day, at the Court House, with hoes and spades, to work on the public 
streets, as the Trustees may then and there direct, under the penalty 
prescribed by law, for two days in succession." 

At a meeting of the Trustees held June 4, we find another ditch 
and pond order : "Nathaniel F. Ruggles and Wiatt H. Ingram, who 
were appointed commissioners to view and examine the ditch by the 
Market House and report how it might be drained, having performed 
that duty, Report, That the best practicable mode of draining the 
same is to cut a ditch down Main Street, about twelve feet from the 
line of the lots on the west side of said street, from' the Market 
House to the lower end of the town, which being approved, it is or- 
dered that a ditch be opened accordingly." 

For that purpose, therefore, the order required Mrs. Shackelford 
and John Spidel, who were most deeply interested in the pond near 
the Court House, to furnish one hand each for the space of two 
months, and Mr. Ruggles appointed to purchase, in the name of the 
Trustees, six spades. This ditch accounts for the great ravines along 
the river front. If it be doubted, however, the following order is re- 
produced to show the origin of the ravine on fourth lower cross 
street. 

1828. 

March 8 : " Whereas, a subscription has been raised for the 
purpose of draining the pond near the Court House by opening the 
ditch from the Market House down Main Street. It is ordered that 
John Green be and he is appointed a commissioner to superintend 
the opening of said ditch, and he is authorized and directed to cut 



284 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the said ditch at right angles, from the main street to the river, along 
fourth cross street, below the Public Square, fifteen feet from the 
line of lots on the north side of said cross street." 

After having paid out hundreds of dollars of public and private 
funds in ditching and draining ponds and bridging ditches, the Trus- 
tees fixed the salary of the Town Assessor at eight dollars for the 
year. The Spidel House, on the corner of Main and First Streets — 
now the Barret House — which had been begun in 1827, was com- 
pleted this year and thrown open to the local and traveling public. It 
was originally only two stories, with the front of the second story one 
room, used for a dining-room and public hall. The frame ell was 
built a short time after the completion of the brick. 

In 1855 and 1856 Martin S. Hancock, who had become the 
owner, unroofed the old Spidel — then known as the Taylor — House and 
reconstructed it by adding a third story and brick elL Nimrod 
Grisby, a contracting carpenter, then living in Henderson, built the 
frame addition, and one of his most expert manipulators of the old- 
fashioned whip-saw, was our now much-beloved fellow-citizen, Judge 
Philo H. Hillyer. Aside from the hewed timbers in this building, 
the studding, weather-boarding and flooring were sawed by hand with 
the whip-saw. 

It is said General Zachariah Taylor spent a great part of this 
year in the town and clerked for one of the firms doing business on 
Main Street*at that time. 

The farming interest had grown to greater importance, and for 
those times a considerable amount of country produce found its way 
to market. Wiatt H. Ingram, then one of the most progressive mer- 
chants of the town, became a heavy purchaser and shipper, and 
boats being scarce he would go with a company of men and whip- 
saws to Green River, and there get out lumber and build him boats of 
sufficient capacity to hold his purchases. When completed he would 
float down to Henderson, load with produce and then go to New Or- 
leans, where he would sell both produce and boats. 

The law firm of Morris & Dixon was the only one advertised 
this year. Drs. Glass and Gaither and W. H. Allen, practicing physi 
cians, and J. B. Pollitt & Co., James Gobin, merchants, advertised 
extensively. Orrin Fay was the largest advertiser, and had, perhaps, 
the most complete and extensive stock of any merchant in the town. 
He was a liberal trader and proposed to sell his goods either for cash 
or feathers. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COTNTY, KY. • 285 

Fellows & Ruggles were also large merchants. 

On the first day of January of this year, fifty letters were adver- 
tised as remaining in the Postcffice uncalled for. The following no- 
tice to steamboat pilots was published : 

" Notice. — A series of piles, occupying an extent of about 400 
yards, has been firmly set in the bed of the river at Henderson Isl- 
and as indicated by several poles rising eight feet from the tops of the 
piles. Boats may pass them in safety by running within 300 yards 
of the island near its lower extremity. 

"S. W. LONG." 

This was government work and done to deepen the channel of 
the river, which at that point was almost impassible during low water. 

1829. 

It was determined this year to build a permanent wharf, and for 
that purpose an act of the Legislature of 1828-29 was passed, vesting 
full and ample powers in the Trustees to raise a loan within the limits 
of $2,000, for the purpose of grading and paving Steam Mill Land- 
ing, to be redeemed out of the taxes by annual installments. George 
Atkinson and Nathaniel F. Ruggles were appointed commissioners 
for the purpose of taking subscriptions for stock, founded on the 
pledge of the taxes annually for its redemption, bearing interest at 
the rate of 6 per cent, per annum, and said commissioners were au- 
thorized to cause the said landing to be graded and paved in a sub- 
stantial manner and to report when completed. On the fourteenth 
day of September, 1831, the Commissioners reported, and laid before 
the Board a statement of account of the amount expended, and the 
same was approved. The first paid wharf was then received, and the 
Treasurer authorized and directed to issue scrip to the several parties 
entitled thereto for the sums subscribed. 

An order was passed at the June meeting, making it a penalty 
for any slave to offer for sale any article whatever, without the con- 
sent of his or her master or mistress. 

1831. 

Only one meeting of the Board of Trustees was held this year. 
During the year the old market house fell down and the Collector 
was directed to sell the roof and brick, and pay over the proceeds to 
the Treasurer. 

1832. 

December 15, Edmund H. Hopkins and Will D. Allison were ap- 
pointed a committee to examine all of the laws in relation to the 
town, and report. Only two meetings of the Board were held this 
year. 



286 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

1833. 

It was ordered that the pond near the jail and Court House, 
which had been an interminable source of annoyance and expense, 
be drained by digging a ditch in First Street to Main, down Main to 
First Street below the Square, and with that street to the head of the 
ravine, which at that time was making up into the street. This was 
done, and many citizens of the town now living remember the result 
of that foolish order. 

1834. 

James Rouse, Town Assessor, returned his book May 3 and the 
same was approved, and thereupon the following rate and amount of 
tax to be collected was fixed by the Board : " It is ordained by the 
Board that the Collector for the year 1834 collect from each person 
subject to pay taxes, the sum of twenty five cents on every one hun- 
dred dollars valuation of property, and one dollar from each and every 
free male inhabitant over the age of twenty years." 

A wharfage fee of fifty cents per day was ordered to be collected 
from each trading boat landing at the public landings. 

Great complaint was made by the merchants of the town at the 
order of the Board fixing the rate and amount of taxation, whereupon 
the following order was passed at the October meeting : " It ap- 
pearing to the satisfaction of the Board that a tax of twenty five 
cents on each one hundred dollars value of merchandise, is unequal 
and oppressive upon the merchants, it is therefore ordained, that 
all merchandise and groceries in the town be taxed in the following 
manner, to-wit : Hugh Kerr & Co. and George Atkinson & Co. each 
pay a tax of ten dollars annually, and that Samuel Stites, Wiatt H. 
Ingram, Marshall & Rankin, Dixon & Smith, Bayless Chamblin and 
Mr. Halstead pay each a tax, of seven dollars and fifty cents, that is 
to say seven dollars and fifty cents for each house; and that Thomp- 
son & Johnson, William Hart, Holmes & Beall, Joshua Mullin, Robert 
G. & Paschal Rouse and Fountain Cunningham, each pay a tax of 
five dollars annually, and that David H. Hillyer & Bro. pay a tax of 
three dollars annually on merchandise." 

At the same meeting an order was passed appointing John D. 
Anderson, Joseph Cowan, John Green and Edmund H. Hopkins a 
committee to contract for filling up, stopping and securing the ravine 
making from the river to the Public Square on first cross street below 
the Square. One hundred and fifty dollars was appropriated for the 
purpose, and every dollar of it spent, but how, no one now knows. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 287 

1835. 

The first case of small-pox of which anything is known made its 
appearance in Joshua Mullin's* tavern in February. If the citizens 
were frightened, or the least uneasy about it, that fact was not mani- 
fested in the special meeting of the Board, held February 27, The 
town had no hospital for the sick, but its Trustees had an abundance 
of fellow-feeling, as will be seen from the following order : " It is 
ordered that Joshua Mullin be authorized to employ nurses and phys- 
icians for the sick man, at his, the sick man's expense, if able to pay, 
if not, at the expense of the Trustees. It having been further repre- 
sented to the Trustees that said Mullin intends, or threatens exposing 
said man to the inclemency of the weather, by turning him out of 
doors, the Trustees respectfully advise said Mullin to abandon all 
such intentions, as they are of opinion that his, said Mullin's, person 
and property would be in imminent danger from such a proceeding 
so abhorent to the feelings of humanity." 

In addition to the amount set apart to be expended in stopping 
the ravine on Lower First Street, the County Court appropriated two 
hundred dollars to be expended by E. L. Starling and Thomas 
Towles, Magistrates, in the same direction. These gentlemen caused 
a fill to be made across the ravine twenty feet wide, not only stop- 
ping the ravages of high water, but furnishing ample passage way for 
vehicles and footmen passing up and down Main Street. This fill re- 
mained intact until the ravine was filled to the line of Main Street in 
1855 and 1856. 

John Spidel died this year, and his tavern was sold to Cornelius 
Fellows, of Louisville, for three thousand six hundred and one dol- 
lars. In 1838 Fellows sold the same to Livingston Taylor for five 
thousand one hundred and thirty-one dollars. On the twelfth of 
March, 1846, Taylor sold to Martin S. Hancock for eight thousand 
dollars cash. 

The town tax for 1835 was fixed at twenty-five cents on each one 
hundred dollars valuation, and a head tax of one dollar upon each 
male citizen residing in the town over the age of twenty-one years. 
In lieu of all other taxes on merchandise a graded specific tax rang- 
ing from live to ten dollars was levied. 

The new Steam Mill wharf needed repairs, and for that purpose 
the Town Treasurer was directed to issue and sell $500 worth of 
scrip, redeemable one year after date. The ravine in the Public 
Square, from hard rams, continued to wash and cave. 



288 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

* 1836. 

James E. Rankin and James Alves were requested to solicit sub- 
scriptions for the purpose of arresting tiie caving of the ravine. The 
first order looking to a permanent improvement was made at the Au- 
gust meeting this year. It was ordained that Main or Market Street, 
as then known, from First to Third Street and Mill or Second Street, 
from Water to Elm Street be paved with brick or stone eisfht feet 
wide, to be completed by September 1, 1837, and to be done at the 
expense of persons owning the lots fronting on the streets. It was 
further ordained that anyone owning a workshop, found guilty of 
throwing shavings into the streets, should be fined. 

1837. 
The total debt of the town at the beginning of this year was 
five hundred and thirty-three dollars and eighty-one cents for bor- 
rowed money, officers' fees, etc. Upon an investigation it was found 
that the Collectors had not settled for the past three or four years, 
and stringent orders were issued to bring them to time. 

1838. 

The Board of Trustees elected for this year were evidently de- 
termined to keep step with the progress of the times. New officers were 
elected and positive orders passed looking to a speedy settlement of 
delinquent taxes and with delinquent Collectors. The Treasurer was 
ordered to effect a settlement at all hazzards, with all persons indebted 
to the town. After having given attention to all matters financial, 
they then turned their attention to the pond and ravine difficulties. 
A committee was appointed to report the best and most practicable 
method of draining the pond at the corner of First and Elm Streets, 
and of securing the ravines from further washing. No source of 
annoyance has ever so successfully baffled the skill of early time in- 
tellects as the ponds and general drainage of the little town of Hen- 
derson. 

This was a year of compliments and none was more highlv ap- 
preciated than that paid Thomas Towles, Jr., Town Assessor, for the 
year. On the twenty second day of May Mr. Towles was appointed 
Assessor, and on the fourteenth day of July returned his book, which 
was received and highly approved by resolution. In consideration 
of his most excellent work he was allowed twenty dollars, ten dollars 
more than had ever been allowed before. 

At the same meeting William D. Allison, Clerk of the Board, 
whose work amounted to as much as that of clerks who are now 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 289 

paid handsome salaries, was paid fifteen dollars for one year's ser- 
vices. ' 

At the August meeting an ordinance was passed fixing the license 
upon all public exhibitions for which money was demanded, the sum 
of three dollars for the* first day and two dollars for each day subse- 
quent. 

For some reason, which the records of 1838 failed to explain, the 
Trustees became alarmed concerning the carrying or concealing of 
unlawful weapons by the colored population. They, therefore, at their 
October meeting, ordered " That James Rouse, W. P. Smith, Fountain 
Cunningham, William R. Abbott, James W. Clay, Henry L. Taylor, 
James Williams, William F. Quinn, James H. Green, William H. 
Cunningham, Robert J. Rouse, Thomas Towles, Jr., Joseph D. 
Gobin be appointed to search all suspected negro premises for unlaw- 
ful weapons or stolen property, and that they have power to enter and 
search all suspected places, that they arrest and bring before the 
Board all negroes having unlawful weapons, and that they seize the 
weapons, etc." 

For clerical reasons it was ordered that Rev. Thomas Evens be 
released from the future payment of town tax.^ There were two wharf- 
boats lying at Henderson this year upon which a specific tax of five 
dollars each was assessed. 

1840. 

For many years prior to 1840, indeed from the earliest recollec- 
tion of Henderson, several of the streets and roads of the town were 
used for horse racing. It was the custom in early times, during the three 
days' elections, tor sporting men of the county (and there were many 
of them) to meet in the town and test the speed of their horses, and 
then by appointment to test the superiority of their own pugilistic quali- 
ties. Horse racing and ring-fighting were attractions calculated to 
draw great crowds, and great crowds did attend. 

One of the favorite tracks for racing was on Elm Street from 
Upper Fifth to the foot of the hill, near the present residence of Hon. 
P. B. Matthews. This source of mascu'ine and animal punishment, 
as well as amusement, had become notorious. It was degrading, cer- 
tainly demoralizing, and as a general thing the chief actors were ig- 
norant men whose sole ambition was to be regarded as the " best 
man " or the owner of the best " nag." The best people became 
disgusted and tired of it, and at the July meeting it was ordained by 
the Trustees, ** That any person or persons guilty of running or rac- 

19 



290 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ing any horse or horses or of causing the same to be done by any 
other person or persons, the party thus offenchng should be punished 
by a fine of three dollars." 

The course on the part of the Trustees, very properly had, to a 
great extent, the desired effect. 

The Trustees directed the Collector to collect this year, in addi- 
tion to the tax levied upon each and every white male over the age of 
twenty-one years, one dollar from each and every free colored male 
over the age of sixteen years as a poll-tax. A specific tax was also 
levied upon the owners and proprietors of grocery stores, farmers' 
produce and boat stores, varying from $5 to $15. 

Owing to the growth of the town and the multiplied duties of offi- 
cials most of the salaries were raised. The clerk was raised from 
fifteen to forty dollars, the Assessor from fifteen to thirty, and so on. 

Owing to the increase of grog shops and the manifest determi- 
nation of that class of dealers to reap a monied harvest, even though 
contrary to law and good morals, and also the trouble and annoyance 
experienced by the owners of slaves on that account, at the Decem- 
ber meeting the Board of Trustees unanimously passed the following 
ordinance offered by Lazarus W. Powell : 

*• jBe it Ordained by the Tnisteef of the Town of Henderson: 

"That it shall be, and is hereby made, the duty of the Town Sergeant, or 
either of his assistants, to punish, with any number of lashes not exceeding 
ten, all or any negro slave or slaves who may be found in any grog shop, gro- 
cery, or other place where spirituous liquors are retailed in said town, or who 
may be found on the streets of said town after ten o'clock at night, unless it 
shall appear to the said Town Sergeant, or assistant, that said negro slave or 
slaves, are acting under the orders of his, her, or their master or mistress ; 
and it shall further be the duty of the Town Sergeant, or either of his assist- 
ants, to enter into any grog shop, grocery, or other place where spirituous 
liquors are retailed, in said town, whenever he shall be informed that any such 
negro slave or slaves are collected therein. Provided, said Town Sergeant, or 
assistant, can enter the same peaceably and without force." 

1841. 

At the June meeting it was ordered that Mill, or Second Street, 
between Main and Elm, be graded, and that the depth of grade be 
fixed by the Commissioners appointed for that purpose. It was also 
ordered that Main, between First and Third, be graded in the same 
way. It was also ordered that sidewalks, ten feet in width, be laid 
down. 

From the records it appears that the Trustees of the town ex- 
perienced equally as much trouble in controlling the hogs as has been 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 291^ 

by the Council the past ten years. The town pump stood in the in- 
tersection of Main and Second, or Mill Street, and its frequent use 
kept the ground wet and sloppy. For this reason, then, the hogs 
congregated at that spot, and several times came near rootmg the 
pump out of its position. To prevent this, a special meeting of the 
Board was called, and a committee appointed to go and examine the 
public well, and character of hogs thereat, and report, instanier, the 
best plan of preventing the nuisance or the destruction of the pump. 
It was a-reed to fill around with broken brick, and in front of the 
spout to'place a large flat rock, at a cost of several dollars, and to 
let the hogs continue to run and root. 

m'KENZIE AND JEFFERSON 

Deli-hted the town with the first theatrical troupe ever seen in the 
place This troupe played in the second story of the Court 
House a medium sized room seated with ordinary plank benches, 
withou't backs, and capable of holding from one hundred and fifty 
to two hundred persons. The troupe was largely patronized and 
played for a week or more, at the urgent solicitation of the people. 
As usual the manager complained of the town tax assessed upon 
them and petitioned the Trustees for a reduction, and, as an evidence 
of how delighted the people were, the Trustees, after consideration 
of the petition, passed the following order : 

" // is ordered that the said petitioners he and they are hereby exempted 
and exoneratedfrom paying any town tax for the time they have performed 

and so long as they may remain at this tifner 

There were in Henderson this year four tobacco stemmeries— 
George Atkinson, A. B. Barrett, David R. Burbank and Hugh Kerr. 
A motion was made for the first time to tax the stemmeries, and a 
vote being taken upon the propriety of such tax being assessed, it 
was decided in the affirmative and the Collector directed to collect 
with other specific taxes, ten dollars from each of the stemmeries 

named. . r j 

From the following order, passed August 14, 1841, it is inferred 
that the Trustees of the town were of a Uberal turn of mind. The 
Public Square needed ornamentation, and as it had been donated to 
public uses, the Trustees determined that it should be. It was there- 
fore "Ordered that four Horse Racks be erCcted at such places on 
the Public Square as a committee appointed for that purpose may di- 
rect ; each rack must be twenty feet long, and supported by three 
posts well set in the ground, and of good, sound, lasting wood ; there 



292 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

must also be ten pins to each rack." This was clone and the bill, 
twenty-five dollars, paid out of the public funds. 

George Chapman, father of the renowned Chapman Sisters, 
prayed the Trustees to exhibit his theatrical performances free of 
tax. This was refused, but a very liberal reduction was made him. 

Isaac Gayle, a slave of George Gayle, was the leading town 
contractor at this time. His work in repairing the wharf and grading 
Main street was received and pronounced well done. 

Edmund H. Hopkins, President of the Board of Trustees, at 
the December meeting presented his letter of resignation. It is a 
very lengthy paper, gracefully written, and full of that fine sense for 
which this great chancery lawyer was so noted. He presented a full 
review of the town's troubles, and suggested many ideas of value, 
which were afterwards adopted and resulted to the great benefit of 
the struggling town. 

1842. 

On January 1, the Treasurer's report showed credit $2,478.86 ; 
amount of debts, $2,453.12; balance, cash in the Treasurey, $25.74. 
A general system of ordinances had been adopted, covering every im- 
portant point, and the clerk directed to record them in a well bound 
book, and to have three hundred copies of the general ordinances 
printed in pamphlet form. The charter had been amended, so as to 
confer upon the Board all needful authority. The town was now out 
of debt, and nothing was necessary but for the Trustees to exercise 
good judgment, and a liberal spirit of progress. The Trustees at this 
time were progressive men, but a majority of the people were still 
plodding along in the old fogy rut in which they had floundered for 
years. A memorial was sent to the Senators and Representatives at 
Frankfort, praying an alteration or amendment of the charter. The 
amendment as sent up was passed, and approved by the Governor 
February 24. The first order of a sanitary nature by the Board of 
Trustees since Henderson was established as a Town, was passed on 
motion of Alexander D. Barrett, a member of the Board at their meet- 
ing June 25. It was as follows: "Ordered, that for the better 
preservation of the health of the town, the lot owners and tenants of 
lots be required to cut down all noxious weeds within their lots or in- 
closures, and also in and to the middle of the street, and in case of 
failure to do so within the next ten days, all persons so defaulting 
shall be subject to a fine of ten dollars." 

At the July meeting, the Trustees in levying the amount of tax 
to be collected for the year, reduced the ad valorem tax to eighteen and 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 293 

three-fourth cents on the one hundred dollars, and fixed the poll tax 
at the same it had been for several years previous. 
The following specific taxes were levied : 

TOBACCO STEMMERIES. 

George Atkinson, $10.00; Alexander B. Barrett, $10.00; David 
R. Burbank, $10.00; Hugh Kerr & Co., $10.00, 

TAVERNS. 

Livingston G.Taylor, $15.00 ; Jacob Held, $15.00 ; William Quinn, 
$12.50 ; Joshua Mullin, $12.00. 

GROCERY STOKES. 

Stephen Medd, $7.50 ; Robert Clark, $10.00 ; William N. Thomp- 
son, $10.00 ; Joseph Adams. $15.00. * 

BOAT STORES AND DOGGERIES. 

Joanna Holmes, $15.00; Lewis Ritchie, $5.00, John B. Burke, 
$6.00; Joseph Bunce, $12.50. 

COMMISSION STORES. 

James Rouse, $5.00. At a special meeting called August 25, for 
the purpose of considering a supposed case of small-pox, all of the 
physicians of the town, to-wit .-"Drs. Glass, Maddox, Allen, Newland, 
Read and Thornton, were notified and requested to visit the said case 
instanta, and report to the Board, whether the case was really small- 
pox. The physicians attended in a body, and returned the gratifying 
report that it was not small-pox, 

On motion of A. B. Barrett, he was authorized to contract with 
Isaiah S. Keen for inclosing the cemetary, corner Elm and Fourth 
Streets, at a price not to exceed one hundred and thirty-five dollars, 
and Joseph D. Gobin was allowed twelve and one-half cents for re- 
moving one dead cat from a ditch below the Taylor House. 

At the July meeting of the Trustees it was "Ordered that a brick 
tunnel of sufficient capacity for carrying off the water from Mill and 
Water Streets, be built from the top of the bank at the foot of Mill 
Street, such distance down the bank as the committee should think 
proper. Also, that a paved wharf thirty-six feet wide, not less than 
one foot deep, of concave form, with a gutter in the middle, be built." 

The Wharfmaster's fees for freight received upon his wharfboat 
were fixed as follows: "For one ton or more in same lot, twenty 
cents per ton ; for less than one ton, and over five hundred pounds, at 
the rate of twenty-five cents per ton ; for five hundred pounds and un- 
der, at the rate of forty cents per ton ; for a single package, ten cents, 



294 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

1844. 

In 1842-3, the town was the owner of a fire engine, but where it 
came from, or what was the cost of it, no one knows. The probability 
is the Uttle concern was a failure, for at the March meeting 1844, an 
order was entered of record directing the Town Sergeant to sell the 
engine, either at public or private sale upon a credit of three months. 
August 12, it was "Ordered that the Town Sergeant suppress all negro 
preaching and negro meetings within the limits of the town, of nights 
in the future." 

During this year, a determined effort was made by the Trustees 
to prevent further washing of the river front, and to fill up several 
ravines already encroaching upon the town. A citizens' fund was 
raised — two hundred dollars appropriated by the Trustees, and three 
hundred dollars by the Countv Court. With this a wide fill was made 
across the ravine at First Street below the square, a twenty-foot fill 
made around the corner of lot No. 1, corner First and Water Streets, 
and an embankment along Water Street, from Third to Seventh, with 
four four-foot plank tunnels or outlets to the river. Notwithstanding 
the efforts of the Trustees, and the large amount of money expended, 
it is a fact that where each one of the four tunnels were placed there 
occurred a break in the bank, and fearful washing away of the front, 
carrying with it the plank tunnels. It would have been better had 
the Trustees let matters take its course, but it was commendable at 
least, to know that they endeavored to do the best that could be done 
in their judgment. At this time a general impro\ement of the prin- 
cipal streets and pavements was being made, new merchants were 
coming in, and a brighter outlook hovered over the town. 

1845. 
At the March meeting it was determined to erect a market house 
on pitlars, one-story high, with a calaboose at one end for the use of 
the town. Upon petition of Strangers' Rest Lodge, Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows, permission was given them to build a second 
story, thirty feet long, eight feet high, to be used as a Lodge room. 
This building was erected on Main Street, opposite the Hancock, now 
Barrett House, and in 1852 it was burned, supposed to have been the 
act of an incendary. 

A novel way of preventmg the spread of small-pox appears of re- 
cord at the meeting of the Trustees November 7. A Mr. Ashby, a 
merchant from Madisonville, had landed in the town with small-pox, 
and was placed in a house opposite the old cemetery. The attention 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 295 

of the Trustees having been called to this, it was ordered tiiat a high 
jence be built across Elm Street at each corner of the cemetery lot, to 
prevent the spread of the disejise. The street was fenced across in 
two places, and no one permitted to pass until Ashby recovered, when 
the street was again opened. 

1846. 

On the thirtieth day of July a stringent order was passed by the 
Board of Trustees, concerning night walkers, and under this order the 
Town Sergeant was directed to ring the Court House bell every night 
at nine o'clock, and that all slaves, night walkers and disorderly per- 
sons found strolling about in the night fifteen minutes after that time, 
should be arrested and dealt with according to law. At the ringing 
of the bell, but few persons were to be seen on the streets, and those 
who were out made haste to avoid the town watch. On the twenty- 
fifth day of August, an ordinance was passed directing the lot holders, 
whether citizens of the town or otherwise, on both sides of Mill Street, 
between Elm and Back, now Green Street ; the north side of Water, 
between First and Second, the south side of First, between Water and 
Elm, both sides of Main lying between Third and Fourth, the north- 
east side of Elm, between first cross and Mill or second cross streets, 
to grade and pave sidewalks as may be in front of their respective 
lots. The grade was to be furnished by the Trustees, by marked 
posts. The sidewalks were to be ten feet wide, except Water Street, 
where eight feet was only required. The sidewalks to be constructed 
of brick, the curbing to be stone or sound white oak, post oak, or 
black locust, timber sawed or hewed on all four sides, and not less 
than four inches thick and nine inches wide. Many persons were 
permitted to use public or river gravel in making their walks in place of 
brick. This was the second order passed by the Trustees looking to the 
permanent improvement of the sidewalks of the town. Another appro- 
priation was asked of the County Court, to be spent on the ravine on 
Lower First Street, and that body with becoming liberality, donated 
another three hundred dollars to be washed into the Ohio River. The 
town was laid ofif into four working districts, and for the better pro- 
tection and improvement of the streets, a supervisor of each district 
was appointed, and directed to call upon the citizens of his district, 
whenever necessary, to turn out with working tools and repair or im- 
prove the streets. Be it said to their credit, the citizens did, when- 
ever necessary, respond to the supervisor's notice with commendable 
zeal, and by this means the streets were kept in sufficient repair at no 
expense to the Town Treasury, G. A. Mayor, who carried on the 



296 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COTNTY, KY. 

gunsmithing business on Mill or Second Street, asked to be relieved 
from the penalties of the ordinance against firing guns in the town. 
His petition was granted upon condition he would build a good and 
substantial battery of wood, back of his house, the same to be exam- 
ined and approved by Joseph D. Gobin, one of the Trustees. 

1847. 
The old hospital on the river front, between Eleventh and 
Twelfth Upper Streets was built this year. Many years afterwards, 
it was occupied by old Jack Shingler, the noted fisherman, who died 
in it neglected and almost forgotten. By an order of the Board of 
Trustees, the negroes were allowed the privilege of holding a meeting 
for religious worship every Friday night until ten o'clock, and every 
Sunday afternoon until sundown. 

July 27, the Trustees repealed this order, and passed in lieu there- 
of, an order prohibiting slaves from preaching or assembling for relig- 
ious worship at night, but granting them the privilege of holding Sun- 
day afternoon meeting. 

1848. 

Owing, perhaps, to past stringent orders concerning negro wor- 
ship, the citizens became anxious and interested in their spiritual wel- 
fare ; they, therefore, at the February meeting of the Board of Trustees 
presented a plan of worship, embodied in a petition, which they asked 
to be adopted. The following is the order of the Board : " Mr. F. Cun- 
ningham presented the petition of sundry citizens with regard to in- 
structing the negroes in the way of salvation. Mr. Samuel N. Langley 
moved to lay said petition on the table. Carried unanimously and so 
the said petition was laid on the table." 

It was the custom of old-time Trustees to deal summarily with 
all matters of public concern coming before them. It had bpen rep- 
resented that Messrs. Lyne & Terry, who owned a wharf-boat at the 
foot of Mill Street, were charging exorbitant prices for freight pass- 
ing over their boat. To remedy this, they were ordered to immedi- 
ately remove their boat from the Public Landing, and, upon failure, 
the Wharfmaster was directed to carry out the order. 

The old Trustees, also, were not merely local politicians, but 
manifested a lively interest in foreign affairs, as will be evidenced by 
the following, passed by them on motion of R. G. Beverly : 

**\Vnr<:RKAs, The members of this Board have heard with great pride and 
pleasure ot the Revokitions in Europe, and of the downfall of despotism more 
practically in Fiance ; therefore, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 297 

^ Resolved s That we tender tlie sympathies of this Board, and of our Re- 
publican constituents, to the peop'e of France, and other parts of Europe, in 
their efforts to throw oft Monarchy. And we earnestly hope they will suc- 
ceed in establishing a Democratic Republican form of Government, in which 
the principle that ' the people arethe source of all political power,'' may be es- 
tablished " 

During this year it was determined that the three offices of 
Town Sergeant, Collector and Wharfmaster should be consolidated 
into one, and that the duties of the three be performed by one per- 
son. It was further required of said officer to furnish, for the use 
and benefit of the town during his term of office, one horse and cart 
and two able-bodied laborers. Also to superintend the said hands, 
and to see that they and the said horse and cart were employed under 
the direction of the Board of Trustees. This new officer was to be 
known as Town Sergeant, and to receive a salary of eight hundred 
dollars, and such commissions as was then allowed by law. James 
Taylor (better known as Two Horse) was unanimously appointed to 
perform the duties of the new office. 

1849. 

January 22, an act of the Legislature was approved, authorizing 
the Justices of the town to sell upon such terms, and in such parcels, 
as they might deem best, the Public Square, vesting them with power 
to convey the same to the purchaser by deed of conveyance or other- 
wise. The Square was not sold under this act, but was, under a sub- 
sequent one, as will be seen further on. 

In the early part of February, a company was organized com- 
posed of James Alves, Samuel Stites, L. W. Powell, Fount Cunning- 
ham, William H. Cunningham, Edmund H. Hopkins, and others, 
under the name of the " Henderson Cemetery Co." 

On the nineteenth day of February, an act of incorporation was 
passed, authorizing them to purchase and hold for burial purposes, 
not exceeding thirty acres of land. On May 13, 1853, eighteen and 
five-eighths acres of land, lying on the Madisonville road, about one 
mile from the Court House, was conveyed to William Rankin and 
others. Trustees of the " Henderson Cemetery," for the sum of one 
thousand three hundred and ninety-six dollars and seventy-six cents, 
and soon thereafter a transfer was made to the city, and the same es- 
tablished as the public burial ground. Lots were sold and the place 
gradually improved, until now this beautiful and sacred spot, known 
as '' Fermvood,'' is one of the prettiest burial grounds in the State. 

In this same month the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was 
incorporated, with Joel Lambert, Wiatt H. Ingram, C. M. Pe^nnell, 



298 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Edward D. McBride and John H. Lambert named as trustees. For a 
number of years this church flourished, but, from some unknown 
cause, was permitted to cease its existence, and for a long time since 
has been without a minister or congregation. In 1884 it was revived 
again, and now holds regular services. 

A system of sidewalks was adopted this year which proved to be 
at that time, not only inexpensive, but of great comfort and conveni- 
ence to the citizens generally. From Main street, or from the termi- 
nal points of sidewalks already built, flatboat gunnels, or gunwales, 
were laid down, and while it is true that in no instance were these 
timbers over two feet wide, and parties moving in opposite directions 
who happened to meet on one of them necessarily had to decide by 
lot which of the two should take the mud, they were yet so much bet- 
ter than the limitless mud tracks traveled prior to that time, no com- 
plaint was urged, but general satisfaction seemed to govern the entire 

community. 

1850. 

April 15, a contract was made with William B. Vanzandt to grade 
and pave one hundred feet of Mill Street landing, as an additional 
wharf, at and for the sum of seventeen hundred dollars. 

Up to this time the town had never owned a prison house, and 
finding one to be indispensibly necessary, it was ordered, June 10, 
" That John H. Lambert and James Rouse be authorized to contract 
for the erection of a small calaboose house, or lock-up." This miser- 
able little affair was buil', as directed, at one end of the Market 
House, and, of course, no arrangement made for keeping it warm dur- 
ing the cold winter days and nights. As a speculation, or precau- 
tionary movement, it proved a sad investment both to the town and 
the Odd Fellows. Tradition has it that a wild Irishman was caged 
in it one bitter cold winter night, and that but for the continued exer- 
cise of his body he would have frozen to death ; that when he was 
released therefrom, he remarked to the officer that that room needed 
warming, and he was the very fellow to do the work » Sure enough, 
a short time afterwards, the Calaboose, Market House, Town Hall 
and Odd Fellows Lodge, with all of their books, papers and Lodge 
effects, were burned to the ground. 

The tax levy for this year was the same as for many years pre- 
vious, to wit : Twenty-five cents on the one hundred dollars valua- 
tion, one dollar on each white male over the age of twenty-one years, 
and one dollar on each free black over the age of sixteen years, and 
a specific tax as follows : 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 299 

TAVERNS. 

Martin H. Hancock, $15; Wm. F. Gobin, $15; William E. 
Lambert, town and wharf-boat, $7.50. 

GROCERIES. 

Joseph Adams, ^20; Jacob Held, 810; G. & J. C.Atkinson, 
$10; Alex. B. Barret, $10; John B. Hart, $15; Peter & Paul 
Semonin, $15 ; Reidhar & Millet, $20 ; Louis Reiglar, $5. 

STEMMERIES. 

A. B. Barret, $20 ; D. R. Burbank, $20 ; Hugh Kerr, $20 ; Rob- 
ert Clark, $20 ; William Soaper, $15. 

This was the first year, it appears, that Robert Clark and William 
Soaper had transacted the stemming business in their own name in 
the town. George Atkinson gave up the stemming business at the 
close of 1849, and sold his house to Robert Clark. 

William D. Allison, Town Clerk, was allowed the sum of forty 
dollars for his services as clerk this year. Philo H. Hillyer, Treas- 
urer, was allowed twenty-five dollars, and considering the bond these 
two officials were require^ to make and the multiplied duties heaped 
upon them, it is safe to say that men in those days served the public 
more for glory than for the pay. 

The contract made with W. B. Vanzandt for grading and paving 
Mill Street wharf during the year 1849, was changed by consent 
of parties and a new one made. More paving was required, a 
tunnel was ordered to be built from the top of the bank of brick 
to the foot of the landing. This wharf and tunnel was completed in 
December, and at the January meeting of the Trustees, 1851, was re- 
ceived and three thousand seven hundred dollars allowed the con- 
tractor, to be paid out of the revenues of 1850-51 and 1852. 

1851. 

In June of this year a general ordinance directing the laying of 
brick, plank and gravel sidewalks on first, second, third and fourth 
cross streets and on parts of Water, Main, Elm and Back or Green 
Streets, was passed. 

1852. 

May 6, Henry J. Eastin was employed to resurvey the town and 
directed to plant iron pins at the corner of each square. This sur- 
vey was made, and afterwards by a hotly contested and bitter elec- 
tion ratified by a vote of the people, and to this day is recognized as 
the correct survey of the city. 



300 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



A general ihiprovement of the town was inaugurated this year, 
several brick tunnels leading to the river were ordered to be built, 
principally the one at First and Second Streets. First Street was or- 
dered graded and filled from Main to Green. 

1853. 

Rev. Joel Lambert, President of the Henderson & Nashville 
Railroad, at the June 2 meeting was granted the right to construct a 
tram road over Fourth Street from the depot to the river bank, on the 
following conditions : The grade of the road to correspond with the 
grade of Main and Water Stret ts, the track to be located in the cen- 
ter of the street so as not to interfere with a good carriage way on 
either side of the track. The company to have the right to convey 
along said road all the property of the company, but with animal 
power, and not to move at a speed exceeding four miles an hour, and 
at no time to obstruct the crossings. 

On the seventeenth day of June a majority of the property 
owners fronting on both sides of Main Street, from First to Upper 
Third Street, and on Mill from Water to Main, petitioned the Trustees 
of the town to grade, gravel, gutter and otherwise improve the streets, 
and obliging themselves to pay for one-half of the streets lying in 
front of their respective property. Immediately upon receipt of the 
petition, an ordinance was passed directing said improvement to be 
made. It specified that a carriage way be graded and paved, the dirt 
to be thrown up in the middle and a stone gutter constructed on each 
side of said carriage way and on the outside of the sidewalks, the 
gutters to be five feet wide and laid with stone not less than two inches 
in depth, the carriage way paved with gravel not less than ten inches 
thick. 

It further directed the building of a landing fifty feet wide at the 
foot of First Street, to be paved with gravel and a stone gutter sixteen 
feet wide, and annulled the previous order directing a brick tunnel. 
This wharf, it was charged, was built in the interest of property own- 
ers near by, one or two of whom were members of the Board of Trus- 
tees at the time. It proved an expensive failure, washed away and 
came near destroying all of the adjoining property and has twice 
since been tunneled. 

This, however, was the first order or ordinance ever passed looking 
to the permanent improvement of any of the streets of the town, and, 
of course was hailed with delight by the citizens generally. 

A contract was entered into with Moses Ross to build the wharf 
at First Street for the following prices : Twelve cents per cubic yard 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 30l 

for excavation, twelve cents per cubic yard for embankment, $2.75 
per perch for paving the gutter with limestone, 1Q}4 cubic feet to the 
perch, and seventy-five cents per cubic yard for all gravel put on ten 
inches thick. This wharf cost $4,152.37>^. The President of the 
Board was directed to contract for the improvement of the intersec- 
tions of the streets and also to have stepping stones put at all im- 
portant crossings. 

On November 5 many of the citizens petitioned the Board to be 
allowed to make sidewalks in front of their respective lots fifteen feet, 
instead of twelve feet wide. The prayer of the petition was granted, 
and from that time all of the principal sidewalks of the town were 
ordained to be built fifteen feet wide. 

1854. 

On the eighteenth day of February an act of the Legislature was 
approved investing Henderson with all the general powers of mu- 
nicipal corporations. Under this act the town became a city and was 
divided into two wards. The First Ward included all that territory 
lying above Mill Street, and the Second Ward all that territory lying 
below Mill Street. Each ward was entitled to three Councilmen, and 
at the first election directed by this charter, it was provided that a 
poll be opened in each ward for the election of a Mayor, three Coun- 
cilmen, a City Judge, an Assessor, Marshal and Treasurer. John H. 
Lambert, James Rouse, William Brewster, L. F. Danforth, Elijah W* 
Worsham and James E. Rankin were appointed commissioners to 
superintend the organization of the city government under the char- 
ter. 

On the first day of May an election was held and the following 
named persons elected : William B. Vanzandt, Mayor ; James W. 
Clay, George M. Priest and Jacob H. Fulwiler, Councilmen First 
Ward ; John H. Lambert, Barak Brashear, David H. Unselt, Coun 
cilmen Second Ward ; Worden P. Churchill, City Judge ; Solomon 
Nestler, Marshal ; Henry Lyne, Treasurer ; Young E. Allison, As- 
sessor. 

The eastern survey of the town was submitted at this election 
and ratified by a large majority of those voting. The last minute ot 
the clerk of the Board of Trustees is as follows : ^^ F/ie Mayor and 
Councilmen having been sworn into office^ and the archives and property 
of the town of Henderson having been delivered up to them, the Trustees 
adjourned forever and a day.^' 

The first meeting of the Mayor and the Council was held at the 
Court House on the eighth day of May, the Mayor and Council all 



302 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

present. Y. E. Allison was elected clerk. It was ordained that all 
ordinances in force at the time of the change from a town to a city 
government, should remain in full force until repealed, modified or 
amended by the Council. An ordinance establishing rules for the 
government of the Council was passed, and two night policemen em- 
ployed as assistants to the Marshal. 

It was ordered that the regular meetings of the Board be held 
on the first Tuesday in every month, at three o'clock P. M. At this 
time it was determined to change the grade of Main Street, from 
Second to sixth upper cross street. From Second to Third Street 
had been improved according to the grade established by D. N. VVal- 
den, engineer, but the Council became dissatisfied with it and passed, 
at their meeting held on the twenty-seventh, the following ordinanc • : 

' Be it ordained by the Common Council of the City of Henderson, that 
the grade of Main Street from the intersection of Main and Second Streets, 
to the intersection of Main and Sixth Streets, shall be a regular inclined plain 
from the surface at said Second to the surface at said sixth cross street." 

This ordinance necessitated the taking up of the gravel, curb 
stones and guttering already laid down between Second and Third 
Streets, a new grade and the relaying of the gravel, and rebuilding of 
the gutters, etc. On the thirtieth day of May a contract was entered 
into by and between the city and Moses Ross, to do the work at the 
following prices, and to be paid as follows: For removing 80 
perches of stone, ^40; for removing 261 feet of curb stone, S25 ; for 
removing and replacing gravel already on the street, $150, and fifteen 
cents per yard for all excavations. The property holders on both 
sides of the street to pay for all excavations, and all other expenses 
to be paid for by the city. 

On the thirty-first of May, a more liberal right of way over Fourth 
Street was granted the " Henderson & Nashville Railroad." 

The officers of the election, to be held in the following August, 
were requested to open a column in their poll book in which to take 
the sense of the citizen voters of the city as to the propriety of sub- 
scribing twenty-five thousand dollars to aid in building the " Hender- 
son & Nashville Railroad." 

In August, 1854, the Common Council purchased the interest of 
the stockholders, to wit : Edmund L. Starling, William Rankin, VV. B. 
Vandzandt, Samuel Stites, James E. Rankin, L. G. Taylor, A. B, Bar- 
rett, William E. Lambert, John N. Lambert, L. W. Powell, Joel Lam- 
bert, Solomon Nestler, F. Cunningham, Will D. Allison, George M. 
Priest, James Alves, George Atkinson, Francis Millet, Peter Semo- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 303 

niu and D. R. Burbank, in the " Henderson Cemetery." The fol- 
lowing is a copy of the contract : 

"' The Council agree to issue scrip^to each stockholder in the compariy 
for the amount of his stock, bearing interest from the first day to May, 1853, 
and to be made payable out of the city revenues to be collected in 1855, and 
the Council assumes all the liabilities of said company, and are entitled to all 
its revenues of every kind and benefits of its charter and privileges. 

WM. S. HOLLOWAY, 
JAMES W. CLAY, 

Committee. 
And thereupon the following ordinance was passed : 

"Be it ordained, etc.: That all persons are hereby prohibited from burying 
deceased persons in what is known as the old grave yard, or anywhere else 
within the city limits on and after this date. Further, that the Mayor have 
the old grave yard fence repaired and closed forthwith. " 

The amount of revenue to be collected for this year, as reported 
by the Collector's books, was $6,653.00, and upon this information 
Solomon Nestler, City Marshal, was directed and required to give 
additional security apon his bond. The Marshal was present when 
this order was made, and then and there refused to comply with the 
order and left the Council Chamber. At the following meeting, Au- 
gust nineteenth, Mayor Vandzant preferred articles of impeachment 
against Marshal Nestler, as follows : 

"I charge him with improperly threatening the Council and saying he 
would give them trouble when he got the tax books, I charge him with re- 
fusing to obey and execute the ordinances of the city according to the true 
spirit and obvious import of the same. I charge him with interfering with the 
Council, in endeavoring to initiate business, in trying to get ordinancrs passed 
in such shape as would suit his own views I charge him with insubordinate 
conduct toward the Council, in his insolent and unbecoming refusal to give 
additional security to his bond when required to do so by order of the Coun- 
cil." 

Upon the filing of the Mayor's charges, Nestler was summoned 
to appear before the Council on some day to hear the decision of 
that body. On the thirty-first day of August he appeared and was 
put upon his trial, and after a patient hearing of the testimony, 
and arguments of the Council both for and against, he was removed 
from his office by a unanimous vote. Thereupon an election was or- 
dained to be held on September 12 to fill the vacancy, and, strange 
as it may appear, it is nevertheless true, the people refused to sustain 
the action of their Council by re-electing Nestler, and thereupon the 
Mr.yor and three or more of the Council resigned their offices. In 
November of this year, two landings were made, one at the foot of 
upper eighth cross street, and one at second lower cross street. They 



^04 HtStORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

cost a large amount of money, and both washed into the river in a 
very few years after their completion. An exhibit of the amount of 
money squandered in pretending to protect the river front between 
the years 1823 and 1867 would astound the oldest inhabitant. In 
November the Courier Co??ipany were elected the first city printers of 
the town, having been awarded the contract on the first ballot over the 
Reporter. During the latter part of this year, the Ionian Debating 
Society was organized, and composed of a number of the most prom- 
ising youths of the city, many of whom have made brilliant lights in 
both commercial and political circles. This society was governed 
upon the strictest rules adopted by parlimentarians, and was the means 
no doubt, of bringing into active life, the untrained powers of strong 
native intellects. Among its members who have distinguished them- 
selves in life I am pleased to notice Hon. James F. Clay, ex-member 
of Congress, from this Congressional District, a man of great native 
and acquired ability, Hon. J. Henry Powell, a litery lecturer of na- 
tional fame, and now the unsurpassed attorney for the Commonwealth 
in this judicial district. Judge L. W. Trafton, now deceased, but who 
during life represented this county in the Legislature, and served his 
county as Judge, a strong lawyer and able reasoner, Josephus Cheaney, 
the renowned temperance lecturer, William S. Johnson, John H. and 
James R. Barret, whose splendid business achievements have made 
them the pier of any in the land, and Stephen K. Sneed, cashier of 
the Henderson Natioiial Bank, whose reputation for ability through- 
out the banking circles of the county is recognized and acknowledged. 
These gentlemen, with many others, look with pride to the days of 
this society, and love to revel in the old memories which yet cluster 
around its most interesting life. 

In the early part of 1854, James Alves additions to the city com- 
monly known as ^'' Fultyle^^ and ^' Hardscrabble^^^ were by act of the 
Legislature made a part of the city. These were then clover fields ; 
they are to-day compactly built. This was the year the young city, 
not only stood alone for the first time, but commenced walking with 
ease. The Mayor notified the County Court that she was amply able 
to take care of her own paupers and streets, and asked to be released 
from county poll tax. He asked that the apron strings hith rto bind- 
ing her, be now unloosed, and she turned loose upon the world to work 
her way to rank with other cities of the country. The order was 
granted, and from 1854, then a small place, she has gradually grown, 
until to-day she presents a bold front, and a growth absolutely com- 
manding the attention of capital from all parts of this great land. 



\ 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 305 

1855. 
The Assessors books for 1855 showed a total valuation of prop, 
erty $1,191,210 and a total of polls three hundred and eleven. The 
tax levy was fixed at one dollar and fifty cents on each and every white 
male over twenty one years of age, each free colored above the age 
of sixteen, and fift}' cents on each and every one hundred dollars worth 
of property listed to the Assessor. The following specific taxes were 
levied : 

STEMMERIES. 

Adams & Rudy, $20.00 ; Burbank, $35.00 ; Kerr & Co., $40.00 ; 
Barret & Bro. $45.00 ; Clark & Co., $35.00 ; Soaper, $35.00. 

GROCERIES. 

Millet & Co., $30.00; P. Semonin, $30.00 ; B. W. Powell, $30,00 ; 
P. F Somonin, $10.00; J. E. Rankin, $10.00; Jacob Held, $30.00; 
Spalding Unselt & Co., $30.00 ; William Brewster, $15.00; L. Reigh- 
ler, $15.00. 

TAVERNS. 

Taylor House, $35.00; Mrs Eastin, $35.00; Jacob Held, $35.00; 
B. R. Curry, $35.00. 

COMMISSION MERCHANTS. 

Wm. E. Lambert, $15.00; P. B. Bryce, $10.00; B. R. Curry & 
Co., $15.00. 

BOARDING HOUSES. 

Dr. Thomas Johnson, $25.00; James Rouse, $25.00; Mrs. Allin, 
$10.00 ; Dr. Redman, $10.00; John Rudy, $10.00. 

STORES. 

John C. Atkinson, $40.00 ; Andrw Mackay, $15.00. 

At the instance of Robert G. Beverley, a contract was entered 
into by and between the City Council, and William B. Vandzandr, at 
and for the sum of one thousand and seventy dollars, to fill the pond 
or ravine, which had engulfed the whole of the intersection at Lower 
First and Main crossing, and fully one-fifth of the northwest corner of 
the Public Square. This contract was made on the third day of July, 
and soon thereafter work was begun. An idea may be formed of the 
immense amount of earth necessary to fill up this great hole, when 
the reader is reminded that it required all of the dirt, then in the hill 
extending from Lower First Street to the center of the square, and 
that in the hill, which extended across First Street, near the corner of 

20 



306 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Green, running at a rapid decline across the street from the summit 
of Mrs. Burbank's property, corner Washington and Green Streets to 
the ground level of St. Paul's Episcopal Church lot. During the 
month of July, a contract was made with W. B. Vandzandt, to ex- 
hume all unknown graves, to be found in the old cemetary, on the 
corner of Fourth and Elm Streets, and remove what remains there 
were to be found, to the new burial ground on the Madisonville road, 
now known as "Fern wood." Mr. Vandzandt was actively engaged at 
this work, but it was deemed best for the public health, to defer fur- 
ther removals until the fall of the year, at which time the contract was 
completed. This sacred square of ground lot No. 58, now belongs to 
the city, and if the writer is not mistaken, the title to the old Cumber- 
land Church should be vested likewise. 

The great floating Palace^ with her chime of bells, and magnifi- 
cent circus, a new feature in the show business, delighted the citizens 
of Henderson on the afternoon and evening of the sixth day of July. 

The low land and pond around the intersection of First Upper and 
and Elm streets was filled up by order of the Common Council during 
the months of July, August and September. This fill included the lot 
back of the Court House, upon which is situated the City Building, 
First Street and lots bordering thereon, particularly the Quinn corner, 
now Robert Dixon's, and the Lawrey corner, now occupied by the 
storehouse diagonally across from Dixon's. The fill on First Street 
was made from three to three and one half feet above the pavements 
laid down at that time. Robert S. Eastin did this work under the di- 
rection of Henry J. Eastin, City Engineer. This pond, from the ear- 
liest recollection of the town, had proved an eye sore and nuisance, 
as well as an interminable expense. As before stated concerning the 
river front and its tunnels, so in this case, an exhibit of the amount 
of money expended in draining this pond, would astound the oldest 
inhabitant. It claimed the attention of several Boards of Trustees, 
to the exclusion of almost every other subject. The outbreak of chol- 
era along First Street during 1863, was attributed to the low, wet and 
filthy condition of the street and lots. There were several fatal cases 
on the square, between Elm and Green. Robert Lawrey, a very prom- 
ising young son of David Lawrey, who lived on the corner directly 
opposite the market house on Elm Street, being one of the number. 

During the summer of this year, the " Henderson Coal Company" 
sunk a coal shaft near Upper Twelfth and Water Streets. This com- 
pany bored a large hole with a small and dissatisfied auger, struck 
coal at last, commenced business with bright hopes, and finally a few 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 307 

years thereafter, wound up with the largest suit perhaps ever filed in 
the Circuit ClerU's office. The experience and end of this company 
however, did not keep others fjpm undertaking a similar enterprise 
as will be seen as this work progresses. 

October 2, a brick sidewalk, ten feet wide, was ordered laid down 
and the street graded from First Upper to Lower Second cross street. 

The city prison, built under the market house, having been burned 
and a great necessity for another experienced, a calaboose thirty feet 
long was ordered built, and was built upon the spot of ground now oc- 
cupied by the City Council Building. Mention has heretofore been 
made of the difficulties pending between the city and James Alves 
and others, concerning the title to that portion of the Public Square, 
deeded away by the citizens in 1824. The city gained the river front 
and suit was pending concerning the square. In September, a com- 
mittee of citizens approached the Council with an offer of compromise. 
The Council appointed a committee to confer in regard to such set- 
tlement. October 2, the committee on the part of the property hold- 
ers came before the Council and submitted a proposition in writing 
offering one thousand dollars, as a compromise to adjust the difficul- 
ties in the suit. This proposition was rejected, and then the Council 
submitted a proposition to accept fifteen hundred dollars, and to per- 
fect the title so far as it was in their power to the property. This 
proposition was accepted by Robert H. Alves and William Brewster, 
and that, to all intent and purposes, was an end of the Public Square 
suit. 

On the sixth day of November, an order was passed permitting 
Messrs. Schraeder and Clore to build a saw mill on the river front be- 
low seventh upper cross street. 

On the thirteenth day of November, an ordinance was passed 
directing the grading, graveling, guttering, curbing and paving of 
second and third upper cross streets from Water to Green, accord- 
ing to the plan of improvement established by Henry J. Eastin, En- 
gineer. This work was all completed, save the graveling of the 
square between Elm and Green on Second Street. In compliance 
with a petition of the property owners, the Council at a meeting held 
on the fourth day of December, ordered a street forty feet wide to be 
made on the river front, from First above the Public Square to Sec. 
ond below. To do this it necessitated a fill on Water or Front 
Street across the ravine landing in First Street below the square. 
This fill was made, and that improvement has ever since been known 
as Water Street, and has proven a blessing to the city. 



308 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

At an election held in the city on the ^seventeenth day of No- 
vember, to take the sense of the qualified voters as to the propriety 
of the city issuing her bonds in the sum of $50,000, for the purpose 
of aiding in building the Henderson & Nashville Railroad. One 
hundred and seventv-two votes were polled for the proposition, and 
this being a large majority, it was ordered by the Council that the 
subscription be made upon condition the railroad company would ob- 
ligate themselves that " Henderson " should be and remain the north- 
ern terminus of the road. 

Up to the year 1856 none of the cross streets, running out from 
the river, extended beyond Green or Back Streets, From Center up 
to the Third Street, out to the line of James Alves' " Pultyte " En. 
largement or addition, was owned by Mrs. Jane Ingram and the heirs 
of Wiatt H. Ingram, deceased. The addition made by Mr. Alves ne- 
cessitated an outlet through the Ingram field, which was at that time 
fenced up in one body, and to secure this the Mayor of the town was 
directed to call on Mrs. Jane C. Ingram and request her to open Sec- 
ond Street through her grounds to the corporation lines, and in case 
of her failure or refusal, to take the necessary legal steps for opening 
and extending the street as required. The Mayor called upon Mrs. 
Ingram, and she, without hesitation, positively refused to open the 
street, unless compelled to do so by law. Suit was then instituted, 
and the street condemned and opened one hundred feet wide. Dur- 
ing the same year First Street was ordered to be graded, graveled, 
guttered and paved from Water to Green. 

In December a liberal lease was made to D. R. Burbank for a 
portion of the river front near his coal mine and salt wells. Mr. Bur- 
bank commenced boring an artesian salt well, and, in 1857, succeeded 
at a depth of over 1,600 feet, in striking a four to six inch stream of 
salt water. This stream flows out of the surface, and can, it is said, be 
carried to the highest part of the city in pipes. The strength of the 
water is said to be eighty gallons to the bushel. At the depth of one 
hundred and sixty feet below the surface is a rock sixty-three feet 
through, which it is said would afford the whole country an abundance 
of the best of fresh water. At the depth of two hundred feet a 
stratum of porcelain clay was passed, pronounced by some to be the 
finest yet discovered in the United States. 

The following from Prof. D. D. Owens to Mr. Burbank shows 
the relative value of this water for salt-making purposes : 
•' D. R. Burbank: 

*' Dear Sir — The approximate examination which I made in Lexing- 
ton, in Dr. Peters' labratorj, of the sample of salt you handed me. obtained 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 309 

by boiling down in a hasty and rude way from brine obtained in your borings 
for salt in Henderson, gave the following comparative result with salt of 
commerce, supposed to be Kanawhgi : 

SALT OF COMMERCE — KANAWHA. HENDERSON CO.— BURBANK SALT. 

Selica 0.000 Same 0.140 

CarbonatHof lime 0.635 Same 0.583 

Chloride of magnesia or bilter salt. . ..0.200 Almost inappreciabl in Burbank's salt. 

** This shows it is a very pure salt since this examination must inevita- 
bly show a larger amount of impurity in your salt than could be in the salt of 
commerce prepared by crystalization ; it is in fact purer than the Kanawha 
salt. D. D. OWENS, Geologist of Kentucky." 

Shortly after the discovery of this vien of water Mr. Burbank ex- 
pended a large amount of money in the purchase of machinery and 
building of vats for the purpose of making salt, but, owing to some 
defect in the apparatus for boiling and evaporating,or else some opposite 
quantity in the water,the enterprise was soon abandoned. From that day 
to this the well has continued to flow ad libitum, furnishing during the 
spring, summer and early fall months the most health-giving bathing 
to be found anywhere in the country. 

During this summer (1883) Mrs. Burbank has caused to be 
erected a swimming pool near the well, where the citizens go in great 
numbers to enjoy the health-giving qualities of the water. It is un- 
doubtedly a superior water for invalids of all kinds, and is said to be 
a dead shot to chills and fevers, many wonderful cures having been 
efTected by the use of it. 

Prior to the boring made by Mr. Burbank, a similar artesian well 
had been bored by Mr. John G. Holloway on his farm, some five miles 
out from the city. Ii was the object of Mr. Holloway, at the begin- 
ning, to secure, if possible, a flowing stream of fresh water, but he, 
too, struck a vein of strong salt, and in endeavoring to go further, 
got one of his augers fastened in the tube, and abandoned the enter- 
prise. The water was permitted to flow through the farm. Sixty or 
more sheep were killed from drinking it and the well was plugged up. 
At an elevation of 155 feet above low water and to the depth of 
1,024>^ feet his borings developed ten beds of coal : at 60 feet, one of 
10 inches ; at 136)^ feet, over 3 feet of block shale, with some coal ; 
at 160 >^ feet, a vein of 4}^ feet ; at 262 feet, one of 2>^ feet ; at 447 
feet, one of 1^ feet; at 467 feet, one of 5>^ feet; at 572 feet, one 
of 20 inches, and at 861 feet, one of 6>^ feet. 

The coal shaft sunk by Mr. Burbank was intended more for his 
own convenience than for the public supply. He had expected to 
operate his gait works, but when that enterprise exploded, he then 



310 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

turned his attention to raising coal for public sale. He continued to 
work his mines up to 1862, when, in the month of November, he 
leased them to Mr. A. H. Talbott. This gentleman operated the 
mines for one or two years, when they were again delivered up to the 
original owner. 

Mr. Burbank was heavily engaged in tobacco stemming and 
farming, besides other important enterprises, attracting a good por- 
tion of his time and attention, and for this reason he abandoned the 
shaft and thus permitted it to fill up. 

1856. 

On the second of January a contract was entered into for the per- 
manent improvement, by grading, graveling, guttering, curbing and im- 
proving Main Street from Third to Upper Sixth Street. This contract 
was made with Stapp & Ackerly at the following prices : For excava- 
tions, 22 cents per cubic yard ; embankment, 12^ cents per cubic 
yard; guttering, $3.50 per perch of 25 feet; $1 per cubic yard for 
paving with gravel ; sandstone curbing, 25 cents per foot; limestone 
curbing, 50 cents per foot, lineal measure ; paving sidewalk with good 
hard brick, $1.10 per foot, lineal measure. Upon all of the streets order 
ed to be improved, it was stipulated that the gravel used should be 
taken from the conglomerate mine above the city. The value of this 
gravel as a lasting roadbed will be appreciated when it is considered 
that all of the principal streets of the city were laid over twenty-seven 
years ago, and have never been relaid except in spots as necessity 
demanded. 

By ordinance, passed April 25, Back Street was called and 
named, and to be hereafter known as Green Street. 

On the third day of May, on motion of C. W. Hutchen, a con- 
tract was entered into with B. Brashear to grade and fence the Public 
Square, pi ant in it 270 trees and sow it down in blue grass, for the 
sum of eight hundred dollars. 

On July 22 the Mayor preferred charges against Henry Clay 
Bard, who had recently be'en elected City Judge, for mal and 
misfeasance in office. On the twenty-eighth day of August the 
charges were tried and resulted in a resolution requesting or rather 
idvising Judge Bard to resign. 

During the summer and fall of this year Messrs. Paul F. 
Semonin and Robert G. Rouse, Jr., built the steamboat Governor 
Powell. She was 125 feet long and carrying capacity of 400 tons. 
She was a neat little craft, but, from some cause, never succeeded in 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 311 

making a fortune for her owners, but, on the contrary, at the June 
term, 1859, of the Henderson Circuit Court, in the case of Peter 
Semonin & Co., a decree was rejidered directing the sale of the boat 
to satisfy numerous debts and claims against her. 

On the evening of the twenty-fourth of March, 1856, the re- 
nowned reader and actress, Mrs. McCready, accompanied by M'lle 
Camille Urso, a little prodigy of musical science, at that time only 
sixteen years of age, delighted a large audience of Henderson peo- 
ple, using the dining-room of the Hancock House, because there was 
no public hall in the city. M'lle Urso, then a wonder, is yet living 
and enjoying a reputation as a violinist equal to that of Ole Bull. 
This charming little performer was assisted by Prof. C. F. Artes, 
the great musician, lately deceased. 

On Sunday morning, October 12, the large pork house of Wood- 
rufif & Funk, located in the lower end of the city near the ste m mill, 
was set fire to bv an incendiary and burned to the ground. The loss 
was a heavy one to the firm and a serious blow to the commercial in- 
terest of the county. 

1857. 

The lease for a part of the river front, petitioned for by Messrs. 
Shrader & Clore, for the purpose of building a steam saw mill, was 
executed May 2 for a term of thirty years. The mill was built and 
has been for a number of years operated by Joseph Clore. On the 
first day of January, 1884, the firm name was changed to that of Joseph 
Clore & Sons, and is one of the largest and most successfully man- 
aged mills in the State. 

The first steam ferryboat, under command of Captain James W. 
Anthony, was introduced this year. 

In July a terrific wind storm passed over the city, unroofing many 
houses and rasing to the ground a magnificent five-story brick, two 
hundred feet in length, the property of D. R. Burbank, fronting on 
third upper cross, between Main and Water Streets. This house was 
rebuilt upon the same foundation, but only four stories high. In its 
crushing fall it demolished an adjoining brick stable, the property of 
William S. Holloway, and killed forever and anon, *'01d Bally," one 
of the finest specimens of equine flesh ever owned in this place. 

The Farmers' Bank building on the corner of Elm and Second 
Street, was completed in August. 

The Hancock House was given a thorough overhauling, among 
other things plastered on the outside with a rough coat in imitation 
of stone, Henderson improved rapidly this year. 



312 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The Reporter oi September 17 said : '* We have never witnessed 
a more healthy and vigorous manifestation of the spirit of improve- 
ment than now prevails throughout this city. Business and dwelling 
houses are in process of erection in almost every direction. Streets 
are being graded, pavements laid and all other species of im- 
provements are going ahead with rapid strides. There is more work 
than the present force of mechanics can manage." 

During the month of October, a society of young men known as 
the "Thespian Society," a dramatic literary association, was organ- 
ized, and during the fall and, winter of 1858 gave entertainments in 
" Woodruff Hall " to large and delighted audiences. This society 
undertook such pieces as " Ingomar," " Lady of Lyons," "Still 
Water Runs Deep," " Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady," and 
others of a difficult and popular cast, and, contrary to the predictions 
of the most sanguine friends of the players, the several renditions 
were not only creditable but positively meritorious. L. W. Danforth, 
a most humorous young man, possessed a happy and peculiar faculty 
of fun and wit, proved himself the equal in his line of comedy and 
farce of any trained actor who had preceded him on a Henderson 

stage. 

1858. 

On the fifteenth day of July a compromise of the suit of the city 
vs. Robert Clark & Co. and John B. Burke, for that part of the river 
front lying between First and Second Upper Streets, was filed and 
ordered to be made a part of the decree to be rendered in the Circuit 
Court. This compromise stipulated that Clark & Co. and Burke be 
permitted to remain in peaceable possession of the ground during the 
remainder of the unexpired term of the lease from the town to Au- 
dubon & Bakewell, made by the Trustees of the town on the six- 
teenth day of March, 1816, and to run ninety-nine years from that 
date, upon the said Clark & Co. and Burke executing and accepting 
a lease from the city for the unexpired term of said lease, to-wit : the 
fifteenth day of March, 1915, and paying such annual taxes upon 
said property as may from year to year be assessed against it by the 
city authorities. 

The first billiard table ever seen in the city was introduced this 
year by Martin S. Hancock. 

The second market house was built during the months of Octo- 
ber and November and cost twelve hundred dollars. 

This year, like its predecessor, witnessed a rapid growth of the 
city, streets were improved and old contracts finished, more impor- 



^ HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 313 

tant still, all owners of property encroaching upon the line of the 
streets as established by the Henry J. Eastin survey and ratified by 
a majority xote of the people, ^¥-ere notified to draw in their fences 
and thus conform to' the survey. In many instances this was done, 
but in no instance where the ground was held by right of possession 
was the order obeyed. Be it said to the credit of the Council, in 
many very important cases and equally unimportant ones, this timely 
step was taken. 

On the sixth day of April, Mrs. Betsy Sprinkle, relict of Michael 
Sprinkle, one of the pioneers, died. She was a devoted Christian 
woman. Once upon a time, her husband, in his old age, was ap- 
proached upon the matter of religious preparation, when he replied 
in all earnestness : " My vi/e, Fefsy, has got it, Judge Knox has got 
it, and I am getting too old to enjoy it." 

On the seventeenth day of February, an act to amend the city 
charter was approved. This act reinstated within the city limits all 
that territory lying between fourth and eighth lower cross streets, a 
portion of the same let out in 1825 under that remarkable trade be- 
tween the citizens and James Ah'es and others. 

1859. 
McBride's old Horse Mill, near the corner of Eighth and Main 
Streets, was torn away by order of the Council, passed March 24. 
This was one of the first mills built in the county, and for many years 
did the grinding for this entire section of country. 

On the second day of May a poll was opened to take the sense 
of the qualified voters as to the propriety of the city paving the river 
front between uppe/ second and third cross streets, and authorizing 
the issue of $80,000 of her bonds, bearing six per cent, interest, to 
run twenty years, for the purpose of paying for said wharf. The 
vote resulted as follows : In the First Ward, for the bonds, 77 ; 
against the bonds, 1. In the Second Ward, for the bonds, 53 ; against 
the bonds, 2. These bonds were never issued. 

On the seventeenth day of May, an ordinance was passed, au- 
thorizing the erection of works for the manufacture of illuminating 
gas, and giving the privilege of selling and suppling the same to the 
city for the term of fifty years. 

On the sixteenth day of August, the old public well, in the inter- 
section of Main and Second cross streets, was ordered filled up ami the 
pump removed. This old well had refreshed many of the inhabitants 
for years and years, and it may be, that its cooling waters, made poi- 



314 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, ♦ 

sonous by filth deposited therein by evil-disposed persons, had aided 
in sending others to untimely graves. It also had a history asso- 
ciated with the corrective influences of courts, and such like. It was 
a power,' it was a terror at times. As a corrector of morals and mis- 
demeanors, it was frequently pointed to, and upon more than two occa- 
sions that old pump handle was made to ring out, as its rapid stream 
poured down upon the head and body of some penitent subject who 
had violated the laws of society and morals. 

The $50,000 of bonds voted on the seventeenth day of Novem 
ber, 1855, to aid in completion of the Henderson & Nashville Rail- 
road, were never issued, but by a compromise between the Council 
and the railroad officials, it was agreed that a proposition to subscribe 
$100,000, one-fourth payable when five miles of the track was laid, 
one-half when ten miles was completed, and so on till the whole 
amount had been paid, should be submitted at an election to be held 
on the seventeenth day of September, 1857. An ordinance was 
passed directing the election to be held and the vote taken as fol- 
lows : " In favor of the subscription by the city of one thousand 
shares of one hundred dollars each of the capital stock in the Hen- 
derson & Nashville Railroad, and another column opposed to the 
subscription by the City of Henderson of one thousand shares of one 
hundred dollars each. Also another column in favor of a direct tax 
to be paid in three years in six semi-annual payments, to be made 
and levied of the taxable property of the city, to be appropriated to 
the payment of the subscription of stock. Also another column in 
favor of payinp- the subscription of stock by the issuance of bonds 
of the said city, payable to the railroad company at thirty years after 
date, bearing six per cent, interest, payable semi-annually." 

The election was held and resulted as follows : Two hundred and 
twenty-nine votes in favor of the city subscribing one thousand shares of 
one hundred dollars each, and 229 votes in favor of a direct tax, pay- 
able semi-annually in six installments, to meet said subscription ; op- 
posed to the subscription and tax, 6 votes ; in favor of the thirty year 
bonds, none. 

Elm Street, from first upper cross street to a line between the 
property of Governor L. W. Powell and Thomas Evans below the 
Square, was ordered graded, guttered and paved according to the 
plan of general improvement of the streets. This work was com- 
pleted early in I860. 

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, March 14, 15 
and 16, the citizens of the town enjoyed a most charming musical 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 315 

treat at three performances of Cooper's celebrated opera troupe. 
Miss Annie Milner, the best English soprana heard in this country for 
sixteen or eighteen years, was tt.e leading artist, and was the more 
remarkable, as she had had but little stage experience. She exhib- 
ited many of the peculiar beauties of her instructress, the celebrated 
Mrs. Wood, particularly in the sweetness of her trills, the firmness 
of her sostenuto and the remarkable ease with which she attacked the 
notes in her upper register. Her entire rendition of Verdi's trying part of 
Leanorain ^' II Trovatore," was a perfect success and stamped her a 
great lyric artist. The singing of the entire troupe was warmly ap- 
plauded, and it is safe to say no entertainment prior to that time or 
since has so captivated the city. The great Rudolfson, who is yet de- 
lighting the musical world, was one of this opera company, and will 
long be remembered by many who enjoyed the richness of his vocal 
powers. 

June 19, Dr. A. J. Morrison suicided in the county jail. 
July 18, the young Americans of Henderson were surprised and 
diverted by five or six Indians in their peculiar uniforms. These 
savages were somewhat civilized and begged importunately. The 
males and females were each as ugly as it is said of a Ducth picture 
of the devil. 

July of this year was the hottest ever known, the thermometer 
indicating from 98 in the shade during the morning to 103 in the 
afternoon. 

Dr. Owen Glass, a leading citizen, and greatly respected by all 
who knew him, died suddenly, December 29 

1860. 
February 25, an act, to amend an act, incorporating the City of 
Henderson was approved. This act restored the oli boundaries ac- 
cording to the original plat. The Mayor and Council were given 
general powers over streets, etc., and the city divided into two wards. 
Mill or Second Street being the dividing line. 

On the seventeenth of March the new charter was submitted to 
a vote and ratified by the people. This charter brought in the addi- 
tions made by James Alves. 

In January the magnificent steamer Grey Eagle, built for the 
Louisville & Henderson Packet Line, made her first trip, and was re- 
ceived on rounding in at Henderson by the " Henderson Guards " 
with a royal salute from their handsome loud-mouthed six-pound brass 



316 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

cannon. Captain W. H. Daniels acknowledged the compliment in a 
becoming manner. 

In the fall of 1859 John C. Stapp had buflded an immense ice 
house, which he filled during the winter with ice for the accommoda- 
tion of the general public. In the sp.ing of 1860 he advertised as 
follows : *' Having erected and filled with superior ice, a mammoth 
ice house, I wish to furnish private families and others with that lux- 
ury the ensuing season, commencing May 15 and continuing until 
the first day of October at the following rates : For the season of 
four months, $12 for one-fourth bushel per day, $20 for one-half 
bushel per day, ^28 for three-fourths of a bushel per day, ari'l $35 
for one bushel per day, oz. weight. In all cases of sickness where the 
parties are not able to buy ice I will supply them free of charge. " 

On March 10 the streets along the gas main were lit with gas for 
the first time. 

March 5 William D. Allison, for thirty-eight years Circuit and 
County Clerk of Henderson County and decidedly the most popular 
man in the county, departed this life after a brief illness. 

March 8, Joseph Grant, for many years the only butcher in the 
city, dropped suddenly dead. 

March 21, a miniature hurricane swept the river, sinking two 
coal barges and a boat containing a large number of sewing machines 
at the foot of the wharf. 

May 10, E. G. Hall was elected Mayor, the total vote polled 
being 320. 

June 10 the new Methodist Church was dedicated, and at the 
evening meeting $3,000 was raised by subscription to free the build- 
ing from debt. Rev. Charles Booth Parsons conducted the services 
and preached a powerful sermon. 

June 5, an agreement or covenant, was entered into between 
property lot holders, who held adverse possession, and the city, for 
the surrender upon certain conditions, ground encroaching upon the 
line of the street, as established by the Eastin survey. This agree- 
ment was signed by sixty-two lot holders and is recorded in city 
record book " A," page 260. 

On the third day of July an ordinance was passed directing the 
permanent improvement of Elm Street, between first and fourth up- 
per cross streets. 

Monday, August 20, the first iron rail was laid on the road-bed 
of the Henderson & Nashville Railroad at the present depot grounds. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 317 

This interesting incident in the history of Henderson was attended 
and witnessed by a large concourse of people. Capt. Jas. W. Clay was 
accorded the honor of driving the first spike. The Mechanics' Brass 
Band made harmonious music,"while Colonel John W. Crockett and 
C. M. Pennell made glorious and enthusiastic speeches. 

October 4 the first five miles of this road was completed and 
ready for the iron horse. This was the terminal of the railroad un- 
til two years after the war, to-wit : 1867. 

At a meeting of the Common Council, held October 23, the 
eight'cross streets below the Public Square were appropriately named 
as follows : First, Washington; second, Powell; third. Clay; fourth, 
Dixon; fifth, Jefferson; sixth, Audubon; seventh, Jackson, and 
eighth, Hancock. 

December 4 the city paid the first installment of $16,666.66 2-3 
on her subscription of one hundred thousand dollars to the building 
of the Henderson & Nashville Railroad. 

Clouds of war hanging over the country it was resolved by the 
Council that all improvements of streets and sidewalks that have not 
already been put under contract be and are hereby suspended indefi- 
nitely. At the next meeting uncompleted work was ordered to be 
stopped indefinitely. 

During this year, 1860, the Council exerted every energy to keep 
Henderson abreast of the times, all of the lots lying on First Street 
had by order of the Council been filled up and the street itself had 
been filled and improved. An immense amount of street improve- 
ments in other parts of the city had been completed and begun. 
Property had been reclaimed and in many instances a liberal com- 
promise had been effected with those lot holders who held property 
encroaching upon some one or more of the streets of the town. The 
wor-v of this Council, as well as those preceding it four or five years, 
was immense and they deserve a more extended notice than time and 
space in this work will admit of, suffice it say, however, that their 
labors in a few more years would have culminated in securing Hen- 
derson a front position among the leading cities of the West, but for 
the coming of that cruel, cruel war. The war had dawned, and was 
now about to shine out in all its horrors, and anything of a bright 
future had begun to settle beneath its lowering cloud of death and 
desolation. 

1861. 

The Council was now satisfied that the services of an engineer 
would be no longer needed, so at the January meeting an order was 



318 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

passed dispensing with the services of that expert, whom they had 
kept busy for three years. 

At a meeting of the City Council, held January 2, the committee 
appointed to compromise suits pending in the Henderson Circuit 
Court between the city and D. R. Burbank, reported the following 
agreement : 

'•This article of agreement made and entered into this twenty-ninth day 
December, i86d, between the City of Henderson and D R. Burbank, wit- 
nesseth. That, whereas the city has instituted suits against said Burbank for 
certain streets situated on the property purchased by said Burbank of W. A. 
Towles and wife and John D. Anderson, also for portions of Green and 
Washington Streets, and the sidewalk on Elm and Third Streets, where tlie 
said Burbank now resides, all of which is inclosed and claimed by him ad- 
versely to the said city. Now, in consideration of the said Burbank relin- 
quishing and giving up to the city the portions of Green and Washington 
Streets, and the sidewalk on Elm and Third Streets above named, the said city 
agrees to dismiss said suits as to the prttpert^j now in dispute. It is understood 
that Burbank is to retain possession of that portion of said Third Street on 
which his factory stands, until the same shall rot or burn down, or be pulled 
down or removed, then Burbank is to relinquish to the city the remainder of the 
sidewalk in his possession. Witness our hands, etc. 

" D. R. BURBANK. 

*• E. G. HALL, Mayor, etc " 

On the twentieth day of April the evidences of bloody war hav- 
ing become so unmistakably apparent, the Common Council deter- 
mined to fight, or better, perhaps, to be captured full-handed. The 
following is a copy of the proceedings of the meeting held on that 
day : 

" Mr. Matthews moved that an appropriation of one thousand dollars be 
made to purchase arms and ammunition for the protection of the city, which 
motion carried by the following vote : Ayes — Mayor Hall, Beverley, 
Ladd, Matthews and Tallbott Nayes — None." 

"On motioii, R. G. Beverley is appointed a committee to purchase fifty 
kegs oi liowder, also to purchase (dl of the powder now in the city for the use 
of the city, which motion was carried by the same vote *' 

The teaching of negro Sunday Schools was prohibited, and the 
meeting of that race in the city for public worship when conducted, 
controlled, or assisted by a slave, or free negro, was declared to be a 
nuisance. It was made the duty of the Marshal to disperse all such 
meetings, and to arrest the person or persons by whom the same was 
conducted, and if the preacher, speaker or exhorter be a slave he was 
to be punished with any number of lashes not less than ten, nor more 
than twenty, and if a free negro to be fined not less than twenty, nor 
more than fifty dollars. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 319 

Mr. Beverly reported on the twenty-sixth of April that he had 
purchased the powder directed in the order of the previous meeting, 
and thereupon amotion was made to furnish the " Henderson Guards," 
with such quantities as they may need for " protection purposes." 
This motion was unanimously carried. Upon motion of Mr. Beverly 
the City Council was then constituted a Committee of '' Public Safe- 
ty," any two members to have power to act. The Mayor was then 
instructed to notify the colored preacher. Green, not to preach here 
any more. The city having been fortified with powder enough to 
blow up the enemy, and all other military precautions taken, the Coun- 
cil then cast a guardian circumspection once more over the streets, 
Market House, etc., until her pickets should be driven in or the ap- 
proach of a flag of truce demanding a surrender. 

On the seventh day of May the " Henderson Guards " are again 
remembered, this time handsomely. Councilman Dr. Lafayette Jones 
offered the following resolution, and the same was unanimously 
adopted : 

*' Whereas, The officers and members of the Henderson Guards have 
expended a great deal of money, time and labor in effecting their organ- 
ization, and whereas the said company has given in the way of a night guard 
its services re cently, and expresses a willingness to continue said service, and 
in as much as many of the members of said company are pecuniarly unable 
to furnish themselves with uniforms and bear the other necessary expenses 
entailed upon thein, therefore 

^^ Be it resolv^d,By the Mayor and the Council that the sum of three hun- 
dred dollars be appropriated for the use and benefit of the '• Henderson Guards" 
and that said sum be placed in the hands of Captain E. G. Hall (Mayor) for 
the benefit of said company." 

This trifling recognition was all right, and as the Home Guards 
were all wealthy men, individually and collectively, and were pos- 
sessed of constitutions fully equal to the demand of night service 
made upon them, for weeks prior to that time, and for many weeks 
afterwards, they rejoiced at the luck of their comrades in arms. But 
a short time afterwards one Colonel Charles Cruft came to town from 
Indiana, and then there was no " Henderson Guards " to defend the 
Committee of Public Safety, or the fifty kegs of powder that had been 
hid for protection purposes. 

On the fifth day of October the " Committee of Public Safety " 
caused the following order to be issued : " The Mayor and Marshal 
are authorized to sell all of the powder belonging to the city to the 
merchants or citizens thereof, according to their discretion, and at no 
less a price than ten dollars per keg." 



320 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The total valuation of property reported this year, including 
37 stores and 141 slaves, amounted to $1,614,170. White males over 
21 years, 431 ; free negroes over 16 years, 9, and 34 dogs, the head 
tax on all of which amounted to $8,803.35. There were 8 tobacco 
stemmeries, 15 groceries, 11 taverns and boarding houses, 3 produce 
and commission merchants, 1 lumber yard, 1 wagon yard and 1 wharf 
boat, upon all of which was assessed a specific tax of $867.50. Dur- 
ing the winter of 1861 Hugh Kerr's tobacco factory, corner Water 
and Fourth streets, burned. 

1862. 

The pedestrians who had plodded in the mud and mire from 
early recollection, wanted more street conveniences. They had real- 
ized the comforts of a progressive age, and like the church parson, 
enthused by the eloquent exhortation of his co-worker, cried out 
aloud, "Go on, brother." They must now have stepping stones at 
each intersection, and in the middle of the Square. On the thirteenth 
day of May a contract was entered into to have such work done at 
all of the principal crossings. From that day to this, the citizen who 
had tramped the streets with his unblacke 1 conestogas drawn over 
the outside of his pants, has enjoyed the felicity of perambulating 
around the muddiest of streets in his blacked and shiny box-toed, 
high and dry above the scum of the earth, and so much for a pro- 
gressive Council. The days of tlie " Committee of Public Safety " 
had now almost come to an end One Colonel John W. Foster, hail- 
ing from Evansville, in the State of Indiana, and holding in his 
pocket a Federal commission to reconstruct every man south of the 
Ohio River who should happen to come under his military supervision, 
stepped into the warlike arena and announced himself monarch 
whether the " Committe of Public Safety " liked it or not. This man, 
Foster, was a positively positive man, and thought to be as positively 
unscrupulous. If he was a failure in the military field, where the 
balls and shells flew the thickest, that was no reason why he should 
not sit in his comfortable room at the Hord House and rule with an 
iron will. 

On the sixteenth day of August this distinguished Post Com. 
mandant, whose forte was bartering with guerrillas, and suspected 
sympathisers, and always beating them in the trade, issued his first 
bull and addressed it to the "Committee of Safety." That remark- 
able document reads as follows ; 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 321 

" Headquarters United States Forces,/ 
AT Henderson, Ky., August 16, 1862. f 

To the Members of the City Council of Henderson, Ky.: 

'* Gentlemen — It has been brought to my notice that Mayor Hall has, 
contrary to the orders of the Secretary of War. absented himself from the 
city and trom his post of duty. He has done this tvithout reporting himself to 
ME. I am reliably informed that he has fled fr«m the city, either to avoid 
the contemplated draft or to join the rebel army. In either case he has for- 
feited his oflice, and incurred the penalties of the military authorities I de- 
sire that you should take prompt and decided action in the matter. Mayor 
Hall must return to his post of duty and purge himself from the suspicion that 
resting upon him, or you must declare his office vacant and order a new elec- 
tion. I desire that you would act upon the matter to- nighty and notify me 
of your actions. Very respectfully, 

JOHN W. FOSTER, 
" Lieutenant Colonel Commanding Post." 

The Council had been called in extra session, and about that 
time the mere thought of a prison cell was equally as alarming as the 
fact of having been locked in. This then being true, Councilman 
Beverly offered the following resolution, which was adopted unani- 
mously without discussion : 

*' Whereas, It appears /rom a communication of Lt. Col. John W. Foster, 
commanding Post Henderson, Ky , (in accordance to which the Council met) 
that His Honor, Mayor Hall, has absented himself irom his post of duty; 
therefore, be it 

Resolved, That in accordance with said military order, and the provisions 
of the city charter, should the Mayor not appear within ten days of the publi- 
cation of this notice, the Council will take the steps ordered hi/ the CHARTER 
to elect a Mayor to fill his place. 

*'Resloved, That a copy of this order be handed to Lieutenant Colonel 
John W. Foster, commanding post." 

Three days after this meeting of the Council, Col. Foster called 
another one and sent the following communication : 

" HEADqUARTERS U. S. FoRCES AT HeNDERSON, Ky., ) 

August 19th, 1862. j 
To the City Council of Henderson, Ky, : 

Gentlemen — I have received a copy of the proceedings of your Board 
of August 16th, by which you propose that 'Should (he Mayor not appear 
ivithin ten days of the publication of this notice, the Council will take the steps or- 
dered by the Charter to elect a Mayor to fill his vacancy,^ I am not informed 
as to what you construe a ' publication of the notice.' I cannot learn that 
any other publication has been made other than spreading it upon the records 
of the Council and sending me a copy. If you deem that sufficient notice, 
the ten days began to run from the 16th inst. Mr. E. G. Ilall, the late Mavor 
21 



322 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

of Henderson, has abandoned his post secretly, in the darkness of the night. 
fled from the city taking misguided youth with him. and has joined the rebel 
army in rebellion against the Government. 

" No time should be lost in supplying the place which he has disgracefully 
and traitorously abandoned. I, therefore, require that you issue a proclama- 
tion to the citizens of Henderson, setting forth the fact that you are credibly 
informed that E. G Hall, late Mayor of Henderson, has secretly abandoned 
and made vacant the office of Mayor, and has joined himself with those in 
rebellion against the Government, and therefore, unless he should return on 
or before the 26th inst , and purge himself of the charge, there is ordered an 
election to be held to fill the vacancy occasioned by his action, on Wednesday, 
August the 27th, J 862. 

" In this wa}'. I think, you will meet all the requirements of the city char- 
ter, and at the same time show your willingness, as loyal officers, to fill the 
vacancy occasioned by the action of a disloyal associate. 

*' Very respectfully, 

♦♦JOHN W. FOSTER, 

*♦ Lt. Col. Commanding Post." 

This order was fully discussed, and the advice of the City Attor- 
ney asked for. It was agreed to carry out the will of Foster, and 
while the Attorney was engaged drawing up a proclamation conform- 
ing thereto, another communication was received, on the point of a 
bayonet^ which read as follow : 

" Headquarters U. S Forces at Henderson. Ky , \ 

August 19th, 1862. i 

To the C\tij Council of Henderson^ Ky. : 

"Gentlemen — The late Mayor of your city, and your associate officer, 
has secretly fled from the city and joined the enemies of the Government in a 
wicked war for its overthrow. As you have heretofore been his political 
friends, and were elected to office on the same ticket with him, I deem it proper 
in order that you may relieve yourselves from suspicion, that you, together 
with all other officers elected with you, subscribe and take the oath accom- 
panying this letter. Very respectfully, 

♦♦JOHN W. FOSTER, 

" Lt, Col Commanding Post." 
OATH. 

" We do severally solemnly swear that we have borne, and will bear, true 
allegiance to the United States of America and the State of Kentucky. That 
we have supported, and will support, the Constitution of the United States 
and the State of Kentucky, the ordinances of any State Convention or Legis- 
lature to the contrary notwithstanding; that we have not encouraged, and will 
not encourage, the enemies of the United States, and especially the supporters 
of the so-called Confederate States, or give them aid and comfort either by 
word, vote or actions 

♦'That we have not encouraged, and will not encourage, the enlistment 
of troops for their aid; that we have not desired the success of their arms, nor 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 323 

exulted over any reverse of the arms of the Federal Government; that we 
have not encouraged, and will not encourage, opposition to the collection of 
the tax imposed by the United State%. save through the ballot box; that we 
will furnish all information of the enemy, their aiders or abettors, to the proper 
United States authorities, when we can do so, and in all things have demeaned, 
and will demean, ourselves honestly and sincerely, as true and loyal support- 
ers and friends of both the constitution and laws of the United States made in 
pursuance thereof— so help me God." 

This oath was a little more than the Council could take at one 
dose. The medicine was too strong, and the principal parts com- 
pounded too recklessly, and, in return, the patients resolved to suffer 
rather than seek relief at the expense of such a horrid prescription ; 
therefore, the following answer was returned to his royal excellency : 

♦' Henderson. Ky., Mayor's Office, August 19th, 1862 
*'Lt. Col John W. Foster, Commanding Post: 

" Sir— Your latest communication has been received by the City Coun- 
cil, and as we have already taken the oath prescribed by law, and faithfully 
observed it, we do not feel incHned to take any other We, therefore, do not 
wish to act any longer as Councilmen and hereby resign our positions as such 

Respectfully, 

P B. MATTHEWS, Chairman. 

W. H. LADD, 

F. B CROMWELL, 

R. G. BEVERLY, 

J. ADAMS, 

W. H. SANDEFUR." 

Upon receipt of this communication the resignations of the 
Councilmen were accepted, but they were held to answer, at the point 
of the bayonet, until each one should execute, with good security for 
himself, a bond conditioned, not as the law directed, but as a military 
dictator determined. 

The resignation of the Council having been reported to the 
Legislature, then in session, a special act was passed and approved 
on the thirtieth day of August, directing the County Judge to appoint 
officers of an election to be held in the city on the tenth day of Sep- 
tember, 1862, to fill the vacancies. On this day the election was held 
and the following officers were elected : Mayor, David Banks ; 
Councilmen, First Ward, William S. HoUoway, Jacob Reutlinger, J. 
C. Allin ; Councilmen, Second Ward, P. H. Hillyer, Jacob Held, Peter 
Semonin ; Assesor, Robert B. Cabell. The new officers were sworn 
in by his Honor, P. A. Blackwell, City Judge, and held their first 
meeting on the twelfth day of September. 



324 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

On the sixth day of November the Council contracted with Collins 
& O'Byrne for building a three-foot brick tunnel at the foot of First 
cross street and filling two ravines in Water and First Streets. 

1863. 

At a meeting of the Council held October 6th, 1863, a petition 
from the heirs of Wiatt H. Ingram, deceased, was presented, praying 
for the opening of a stre t fifty feet wide, running through Ingram's 
enlargement from the Catholic Church on Third Street to Center 
Street at Mrs. L. M. Thornton's property, and for a continuation of 
First cross street to the new street to be called Ingram Street, and 
given to the city by the said Ingram's heirs. At that time Second 
was the only street running through the Ingram property, the whole 
of it back of Green Street being fenced up in one body. The Coun- 
cil accepted the gift of Ingram Street, and directed its opening from 
Third to Center, and the opening of First from Green to Ingram. 

In the organization of the Henderson Gas Light Company the 
City of Henderson had subscribed for ten shares of the stock of the 
company, valued at $50 per share, and given in payment for the same 
the lot of ground upon which the buildings were erected. 

Misfortune for some cause fell to the lot of the company, and on 
the twenty-fourth day of November suit was instituted by Hugh Kerr 
to foreclose a mortgage given him upon the works, to secure the pay- 
ment ot a note for $784 and interest. 

On the eighth day of April, 1864, another suit was filed by 
Samuel P. Spalding, assignee of Peter Semonin, to forclose a mortgage 
for $835.25 and interest. Other suits were brought, and on the 
twenty-fifth day of April, 1864, under an order of court, D. N. Wal- 
den, sheriff of Henderson County, at the Court House door, exposed 
the works to public sale, and J. C. Allin, on behalf of the city, became 
the purchaser. Exceptions were taken to this sale, but the court 
overruled them, and then an appeal was taken to the Court of Appeals. 
This court reversed the court below ; subsequently, to-wit : On Janu- 
ary 22d, 1866, under an order of court, G. A. Sugg, Sheriflt of Hen- 
derson County, exposed the property to sale the second time and 
Robt. G. Rouse, Jr., being the highest bidder became the purchaser 
at and for the price of $1,991.25, and afterwards transferred his bid 
to the City of Henderson. This sale was confirmed and deed ordered 
made to the city. 

In an article criticising the beauty and social charms of the ladies 
of Henderson the New Albany Ledger^ in its last issue in December, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



325 



paid them the following handsome compliment: "The ladies of no 
city in Kentucky are more celebrated for this heavenly gift than 
those of Henderson, and added to this are those rarest charms of 
intelligence and accomplishment"" in all the graces that make women 

angels on earth." 

1864. 

The tax levy showed for this year, value of town lots, $1,541,490 ; 
436 slaves under sixteen years and 401 over sixteen years, value, 
$173,775; value of personalty, $90,250; 38 stores, $139,850 ;^^42 
slaves hired per annum and 3v hired for less than one year, $18,650 ; 
402 white males over 21 years of age, 30 free blacks and 32 dogs. 

The following is a list of the specific taxes : 

GROCERIES. 

William Biershenk, $15 ; Jacob Held, $25 ; George Hak, $5 ; 
Jacob Held & Sons, $25 ; B. Koetinsky, $35; P. L. Kloninger, $5; 
J. B. Millet, $10 ; Nunn & Rudy, $50 ; T. L. Norris, $40 ; L. Reigler, 
$10 ; John Schlamp, $15 ; W. A. Sandefur & Co., $20; E. L. Starling & 
Co., $50; J. B. Tisserand, $40 ; B. B. Williams, $40 ; Whiting & Co., 
$20. 

STEMMERIES. 

Joseph Adams, $50 ; John H. Barret, $40 ; D. R. Burbank, $25 ; 
D. R. Burbank, Jr., $40 ; B. M. Clay, $35 ; John Funk, $25 ; Kerr, 
Clark & Co., $40; J. Rudy & Co , $35; William Soaper, $40; Taylor 
& Evans, $40 , E. W. Worsham, $25. 

COMMISSION AND FORWARDING. 

M. P. Rucker, $50. 

y BOARDING HOUSES. 

J. B. Cook, $10; John H. Lambert, $20 ; A. H. Talbott, $10. 

COFFEE HOUSES. 

Eighteen in number in the city. 

September 10th the Farmers' Bank was robbed by guerrillas and 
a meeting called to organize for mutual protection, a history of which 

has been given before. 

1865. 

On March 1st, upon petition of the Mayor and Council, an act 
was passed by the Legislature authorizing the sale of the Public 
Square, the proceeds to be applied to building a wharf in front of the 
city. This act was to take effect uoon its having been ratified by a 
majority of the qualified voters at some election called for that pur- 



326 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

pose. By order of the Council on Monday, May 1, 1865, an elec- 
tion was held, and resulted in a majority voting for the sale of the 
Square. 

On the sixth day of June the Council directed the Public Square 
to be laid out into suitable lots and a plat made thereof. 

August 1st the committee reported, and a sale of lots ordered to 
take place on Saturday, the ninth day of September, on the following 
terms : one-third cash, one-third in six months and one-third in 
twelve months, with interest from date of sale. The Square was di- 
vided into twenty-six I'ots, fronting from twenty-four and a half to 
fifty feet, and sold at prices varying from $20 to $60 50 per front foot. 
Twenty-three lots were sold, aggregating the round sum of $20,- 
632.75. 

This was very good, but three years afterwards the Council found 
out what the Council of 1865 ought to have known, to-wit : that the 
act of the Legislature authorizing the sale of the Square was worth 
no more than the paper upon which it was written. The city could 
make no title, and as a necessary consequence, was compelled to re- 
fund the money she had received, and pay for one or two buildings 
erected since the sale. The principal, interest and extras were paid 
for in 10 per cent, bonds and the Square again became the property 
of the general public. 

July 21st, upon motion of Hon. Grant Green, a committee was ap- 
pointed by the Council to purchase a mule and cart. This was done, 
and many citizens remember how faithfully that little animal earned 
his food year after year, under the experienced management of Coun- 
cilman Henry R. Tunstall. It is claimed by some to this day, tliat 
this little mule, with his cart, did more in his peculiar line for the city 
than all of the teams employed since he was sold, or turned out to 
die. 

On the eleventh day of October an ordinance was passed to gen- 
erally improve the unimproved side walks of the city by laying down 
substantial plank walks. Some eighteen lines were ordered at this 
meeting. While plank walks are, as a general thing, expensive and 
soon become worthless, yet under the circumstances they added at 
this time greatly to the comfort of pedestrians. 

The war was over now, peace had once more embraced the land, 
and no man or set of men could have felt the need of earnest effort 
more keenly than did the City Council, The spirit of progress had 
seized them all, and the disposition to regain all lost by the war, and 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 327 

then move on with the quick times, was evidently manifested at each 
meeting of that body. It was now determined, in addition to other 
improvements, to build a magnificent wharf, extending between Sec- 
ond and Third Streets. This great undertaking it was known, would 
cost an untold sum of money, but it was deemed necessary, and for 
that reason preliminary steps were taken looking to its building and 
completion. Councilman Grant Green was directed to prepare an 
amendment to the city charter to be passed by the Legislature, au- 
thorizing the Council to raise the ad valorem tax of the city to the 
maximum of one dollar upon the hundred valuation. The specific 
maximum to one hundred dollars and the poll tax to two dollars. The 
wharf committee on the sixteenth day of December was authorized 
to advertise for sealed proposals for paving the wharf. 

On the twenty-sixth day of September the " City Bank " build- 
ing, now the "Henderson National Bank," on Main Street, between 
Second and Third, was purchased by Hon. Grant Green, William J. 
Marshall and Edward Atkinson under the firm name of Green, Mar 
shall & Co., and on the fourth day of November this firm opened and 
established a private bank with sufficient funds to transact a large 
business. In November this same firm caused to be built the large 
tobacco sales warehouse on Third, between Main and Water Streets. 
— November 7, J. M. Taylor's large brick tobacco stemmery, on 
the corner of Clay and Green Streets, was burned. 

The cholera made its appearance in Henderson this year, but 
owing to rigid health regulations, it was smothered. 

The magnificent residence of Joseph Adams and the splendid 
stone front bank building, erected by the " Farmers' Bank," were 
contracted for and put in course of building this year. 

L. C. Dallam's handsome residence, corner of Elm and Powell 
Streets, Gilmour's tobacco factory, corner First and W^ater Streets, 
and Reutlinger's City Brewery were built this year. 

J. M.Taylor's large tobacco stemmery was rebuilt, 

September 11, William Harris, an ex-Federal soldier, was shot 
and killed in P. O. Applegate's saloon on First Street, by one Henry 
Kokernot (pronounced Coaconut), a brother-in-law of W. W. Catlin. 
The shooting was said, at the time, to have been a plain case of mur- 
der, although the examining trial exonerated Kokernot. The slayer 
left Henderson soon after and has never returned. 

This was the great year in the history of the Presbyterian Church. 
It was here the C^hurch divided into two factions, the Northern faction 



328 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

being led bv the great Robert Breckenridge, the Southern by the 
equally great Stuart Robertson. It was an exciting time in the his- 
tory of the Church, as very many who will be reminded of it by this 
brief mention, will well remember. 

1866. 

Febrary 5th, the act before mentioned, was passed and approved, 
authorizing the Council to assess and collect annually for two years 
against each male inhabitant over twenty-one years of age, a capita- 
tion tax of fifty cents, and ad valorem tax of the same amount, on the 
same property allowed by law, and a specific tax of not exceeding 
fifty dollars upon the same property now allowed by the charter in 
addition to the taxes already assessed, to be appropriated to building 
the wharfs between Second and Third Streets. 

Owing to excavations in the hillside at Fourth Street along side of 
the old cemetery, and the exposed condition of many old and unknown 
graves, the Council ordered that all exposed remains should be re- 
moved and decently interred in the new cemetery, and that other 
graves then in the street beyond the line of tjhe Eastin survey be ex- 
amined, and if any remains were to be found they to be interred also. 

In January of this year the first daily mail was established be- 
tween Henderson and Louisville. 

January 11th, Stephen Duval, a white man, was publicly whipped 
by order of a jury for stealing meat from the market house. 

Tnere was a greater demand for houses this year than had been 
known for many years. 

April 1st, F. H. Dallam, one of the most learned and profound 
lawyers in the State, departed this life. 

Saturday, April 15th, Sterling Payne was killed in the intersec- 
tion of Main and Second Streets by Richard Allen in self-defense. 

An ordinance was passed May 1st directing the improvement of 
Second Street from Green Street through the Alves enlargement by 
grading, guttering and laying down a plank walk. 

On August 7th, 1866, an order was passed by the City Council 
directing the purchase of a city clock, provided it did not exceed in 
price eight hundred dollars. On the twentieth day of September a 
contract was made with E. Howard & Co., of Boston, Mass., for the 
present clock, at and for the price of five hundred and twenty-five 
dollars. Other expenses attaching, to-wit : freight, iron weights, put- 
ting it up and the expense of an expert from Boston to do the work, 
made the whole cost nine hundred and seventy-six dollars. No one 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 329 

will gainsay the expenditure, for most assuredly this public time piece 
has proven a blessing to the public generally. 

THE N*:W WHARF. 

The work of grading the wharf had gradually progressed until 
it had become necessary to contract for the stone work. On the 
twelfth day of July City Engineer F. H, Crosby presented a profile and 
specifications of the wharf, together with a form of contract drawn by 
Messrs. Turner & Trafton, city council advisors, all of which were 
adopted. 

On the seventeenth day of July the contract was awarded to 
John Haffey at the following prices : For grading, 24 cents per 
cubic yard ; for graveling, $1.05 per cubic yard ; for sand 20 cents 
per cubic yard; for curbing, $1.30 per lineal foot; for paving, $4.25 
per 25 feet surface measure and 9 feet deep. 

On the eighteenth day of July the contract was signed by P. B. 
Matthews, Mayor, on the part of the city, and John Haffey, John C. 
Stapp, William S. HoUoway and W. H. Sheifer on the part of Haffey. 

On the fourth day of December a license was granted Messrs. 
Crocket & Reichert upon their new public hall just completed and 
known as " City Hall." 

1867. 

THE NEW CHARTER. 

Upon the incoming of Mayor P. B, Matthews the Council of 
1866 and the City Council Advisors associated with them, it was 
deemed advisable that a new charter should be secured, and that a^ 
an early date, for many reasons. The charter and araendments then 
in existence were better calculated for the government of villages 
and towns, by no means what was needed for a progressive city of 
four or five thousand inhabitants. It conferred but few powers of 
a general nature, and in many of its parts conflicted with the laws of 
Congress, passed subseqent to the war, and, therefore, in so far, was 
non-operative and obsolete. The Council wanted and needed a 
charter conferring all general and special powers given to cities, in 
order that Henderson throttled by the damaging consequences inci- 
dent upon the coming and progress of the war, should come up out 
of her depressed and crippled condition, and assume a station among 
the leading and growing cities surrounding her on every side. 

It was necessary to pull out of the old rut and take on a new 
life by devising and encouraging new commercial and business enter- 
prises, by a general and systematic improvement of the streets and 



330 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

public places of the city. In short to lay aside the village habits and 
take on the quick step of the wideawake city. To do this, therefore, 
Messrs. Turner & Trafton, City Council Advisors, on the eighth day 
of June, 1866, were appointed a committee and requested to prepare 
a charter and report at their earliest convenience. For some 
months this learned firm was diligently engaged in preparing a char" 
ter to meet the wants of the times, and on the sixteenth day of Jan- 
uary, 1867, made their report, which upon being read section by sec- 
tion, and every doubtful point thoroughly discussed, was unanimously 
adopted by the Board of six Counciimen then in office. Immediately 
after its adoption the charter was sent forward to Hon. G. M. Priest, 
Representative, then at Frankfort, with instructions to procure its pas- 
sage, which was done without one single change or alteration, and 
the same approved by the Governor February 11th, 1867. 

Under this charter the city was divided into four wards, giving to 
each ward two representatives in the Board. It extended the bound- 
aries of the city, greatly enlarged the judicial powers of the corpora- 
tion, defined the duties of the Legislative, Executive, Judicial and 
Ministerial Departments, and was in every respect a document cal- 
culated to meet the growing demands of the times. As an evidence 
of the real worth of this charter, it was, after its passage, adopted in 
whole or in part by several cities of the State, Owensboro, Covington 
and Paducah among the number. 

Since its passage sixteen years ago, many changes and amend- 
ments have suggested themselves, but in the main the charter of '67 
remains yet intact, the law governing the municipality. It has 
worked well, and from its birth we can date the substantial and rapid 
growth of Henderson. The first election held under this charter 
took place on the sixth day of May, 1867, when two Counciimen 
from each of the four wards were elected, together with an Assessor, 
City Clerk, Treasurer and City Attorney. 

RAILROAD SUBSCRIPilON. 

On the eighth day of April, 1867, a petition signed by 354 legally 
qualified voters, constituting a majority of the qualified voters of 
Henderson, was presented to the Council, certified toby F. W. Reut- 
linger, A. J. Anderson, James H. Johnson, William H. Hopkins^ 
William Biershenk, P. B. Bryce, E. W. Worsham, John C. Stapp, J. 
W.Williams, W. A. Sandetur, George M. Priest, Thomas S. Knight, C. 
Sechtig, bearers of petitions, praying the Council to subscribe to the 
capital stock of the Evansville, Henderson & Nashville Railroad 
Company the sum of three hundred thousand dollars^ to be paid in the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUI^TY, KY. 331 

bonds of the city at par, one hundred thousand dollars payable in 
twenty years, bearing 8 per cent, interest, payable semi-annually, and 
two hundred thousand dollars -i^ayable in thirty years, bearing 7 per 
cent, interest, payable semi-annually. 

The people lost all control, went wild, they wanted a railroad, 
and, but for the action of the Council, General Boyle, President of 
the railroad company, would have asked and had readily given him 
rights, damaging to the city beyond the loss of any amount sub- 
scribed The Council refused to entertain his proposition until it 
had been modified in several particulars, and the city's interest more 
safely guarded. 

On the eighteenth day of April, an ordinance was passed mak- 
ing the subscription, and directing the issue and disposal of the 
bonds. John H. Barret was selected as the depository to hold and 
negotiate the bonds as directed in the ordinance and letter of Gen- 
eral Boyle to the Council. • 

It was an easy matter for the Common Council to count the 
number of those who had signed General Boyle's petition. It was an 
easy matter to determine the majority, and so it was an easy matter to 
direct the issue of three hundred thousand dollars of the city's bonds 
to aid in building the road, but to raise the twenty two thousand dol- 
lars of interest to be paid annually, was a matter of moment, few 
of those who had signed the petition had ever given a passing 
thought, yet this had to be done, and exactly how was the question. 
This Council felt no disposition to oppress anyone, it was their deter- 
mined wish to instruct the Assessor upon the most equitable plan 
possible, and yet they knew that no list of property could they decide 
upon as the proper one for taxation would be perfectly satisfactory to 
all parties concerned. 

In the act to incorporate the Evansville, Henderson & Nashville 
Railroad, passed and approved January 29th, 1867, is the following 
clause : " It shall be lawful for any election district or the legal 
voters thereof, through which the road may be located, to petition the 
County Judge of their county, by written petition, signed by the said 
voters, to subscribe to the capital stock of said company, for such sum 
as they may fix in their said petition, and on such conditions as may 
be accepted by said company, to be paid by a tax to be levied upon the 
taxable property of the said election district^ real and personal^ that may 
be subject to taxation under the general revenue laius of the State. '^ 

This then settled the question of taxation, and on the eleventh 
day of July a form was adopted, and under that form the Assessor 



332 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



# 



reported taxable property to the value of $3,500,000, and to raise the 
sum of $22,000 interest and $6,000 to cover commissions and con- 
tingencies, a tax of 80 cents on the $100 was levied, and to make the 
payment of the tax as easy as possible, the Marshal was directed to 
collect one-half by the first of November, 1867, and the other by the 
first of May, 1868. 

The Assessor was directed to make his list as if taken the first 
day of June. This order met with opposition, as did every other 
order made by the Council. H. E. Rouse, Assessor, was indefatiga- 
ble in his effort to do his duty, yet he was met by determined oppo- 
sition, and was thereby compelled to appeal to the Council time and 
again. Several plans were adopted and changed, and finally it was 
determined to stand by the one adopted July 11th. This was con- 
tested by certain taxpayers by suit in the Henderson Circuit Court, 
and finally decided in the Court of Appeals December 4th, 1868, 
"4th Bush." 

From the syllabus to the decision the following is taken and 
deemed sufficient without copying the entire decision : 

John H. Barret & Co. vs. the City of Henderson ; the City of 
Henderson vs. John H. Barret : " When a city is authorized to levy 
a tax upon the taxpayers of the city taxable under the revenue laws 
of the State, such tax must be levied as of the date and upon the 
same persons and property as presc/ibed by the revenue laws of the 
State. Taxpayers, taxable under the revenue laws of the State, des- 
ignates both the person and subject of taxation." 

This decision then settled the vexatious question of taxation for 
railroad purposes. From the first assessment to this day, be it said to 
the credit of the taxpayers, the city has never defaulted in the pay- 
ment of her semi-annual interest. 

On the twenty second day of July, John H. Barret, custodian of 
the bonds, tendered his resignation and settlement of the trust, show- 
ing that he had received from the sale of bonds the sum of $34,500, 
and that he had paid out, including the sum of $500 allowed him for 
his services and expenses while in the East in the interest of the com- 
pany, the sum of $24,282.51, leaving a balance in his hands of $10,- 
217.49, which was promptly paid to the Mayor of the city He sold 
and delivered thirty-three bonds and negotiated others, which were 
delivered by his successor. 

During his visit to the East he purchased with his own means 
Engine No. 1, known as the " Pony," and had it shipped to Hender- 
son, etc. 

On the thirtieth day of January this, the first engme ever seen 
in Henderson, was landed at the wharf and several days were con- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 333 

sumed in hauling it up the wharf, and through the streets over a tem- 
porary track to the depot where it was soon afterwards placed in run- 
ning order. When this had be&n done steam was raised and a shrill, 
keen whistle awakened the citizens to the absolute certainty that the 
Evansville, Henderson & Nashville tiailroad was a thing of life in- 
deed. This same afternoon the Mayor and Council, and several citi- 
zens were treated to a short ride over the five mile track which had 
been laid down before the war, but never before used. 

Upon the resignation of Mr. Barrett, Hon. Grant Green was ap- 
pointed and qualified his successor as custodian of the bonds. 

The gas works, which had become the property of the city by 
purchase, but had remained idle for a number of years, except the 
short time while under lease to W. A. O'Bryan, made December 6th, 
1866, were again thrown upon the city, and what to do with them 
was a question the Council was anxious to settle permanently. On 
the 11th day of July a committee was appointed by the Council to 
let out the gas works and report. This committee contracted with 
T. M. Jenkins to take charge of the works as superintendent and 
manager, and filed the contract, which was adopted July 17th. ap- 
pointing him for fifteen years and appropriating seven thousand dol- 
lars to be expended in placing the works in first class repair, adding 
new machinery and extending the gas mains. The works were re- 
constructed, and under competent management have proven a most 
gratifying success, not only as an illuminating power, but as a profit- 
able financial enterprise. These works to-day, size and capacity con- 
sidered, are the equal of any to be found in the State. 

On the 7th day of August a contract was entered into by and 
between the city and Collins & O'Byrne for the grading of Second 
Street, commencing at Green, and running to the east line of Thomas 
Ryan's property on Alvasia street. 

On the 8th day of August the historic high bank of earth stand- 
ing on the river front, between third and fourth cross streets, known 
as '' Fort Nigger," was excavated and thrown back into a hollow or 
ravine lying between said bank and Water street. 

On the 19th day of August an ordinance was passed directing 
and ordering Water Street, between Second and Third, to be graded, 
guttered, curbed and graveled a width of fifty feet. 

On the same day an ordinance was passed directing Second 
Street to be opened one hundred feet in width, from Green Street to 
the eastern limit of the Alves' enlargement, near the residence of 



334 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

James P. Breckinridge, and that it be established a public street and 
known by the name of Second upper cross street. 

On the 29th day of October a contract was awarded Dr. P. 
Thompson and John W. Alves, for paving on the south west side of 
Center Street, from the intersection of Green, to the north east cor- 
ner of Dr. Thompson's property. 

November 6th an ordinance was passed to pave on Main from 
Upper Sixth to Eighth cross street ; to plank from Eighth to Upper 
Eleventh; to pave from Lower Second to Fourth; to plank from 
Fourth to Lower Eighth on Main Street ; to pave between Upper 
First to Lower Third, or Powell Street, on Elm. 

During this year the handsome residences of Dr. P. Thompson, 
Thomas Soaper, A. H. Talbott (now G. I. Beatty's), A. T. Leslie and 
John E. McCaliister were built. 

On the 24th, 25th and 26th evenings of October the "Black 
Crook," a gorgeous spectacular drama exhibited to a multitude of 
delighted people on the Public Square. 

November 1st, the old " South Kentuckian " building, which 
stood on the corner of Main and First cross streets, was torn down 
and two small brick store rooms afterwards built in its stead. This 
building was one of the primitive land marks, and around it clustered 
memories most dear to many of the older inhabitants. It belonged 

to Governor Dixon. 

1868. 

On the 20th and 21st evenings of January, Rear Admiral Semmes 
delivered his entertaining lecture, " The Cruise of the Alabama." 

February 19th, an act of the Legislature was approved, incorpor- 
ating William Bierschenck, Jac Reutlinger, Jac Peter, FcUk Fry, J. J. 
Deihl and P. Hoffman trustees of the Henderson German School. 
This school was established, but a few years afterwards merged into 
the public school. 

Saturday night, 19th, a demand was made upon Jailer J. W. Wil- 
liams for the person of one Jack Burle, by an organization called and 
known as " Kuklux." Upon a positive refusal to comply, an attempt 
was then made to force an entrance. Judge Cissell, then Circuit 
Judge, who lived only a short distance from the jail, was notified and 
in a short time appeared upon the ground, and by the use of good 
argument succeeded in persuading the mob to retire. 

Many of the purchasers of the Public Square having refused to 
pay for lots purchased at the public sale, the Mayor was instructed 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 335 

to enter suit, which was done. The Court held the sale to be void 
upon the ground the city had no right to sell, and therefore could 
make no title. ^- 

March 3d, a contract was made and entered into betwen the city 
and Haffey & Stapp for grading and paving with stone, between the 
Main wharf and Clark's tobacco factory on Second Street. 

On the 7th day of April the Superintendent of Gas reported net 
receipts of the works for the preceding months of January and Feb- 
ruary, $899.60. 

At a meeting of the City Council held June 2d, the new wharf 
was received and guaranteed for ten years, by the city paying $500 
per annum to the con-tractors, Messrs. Haffey & Stapp. 

On the 2d day of June the Mayor had read to the Council a 
lengthy message urging their careful attention upon certain proposi- 
tions regarded as of material interest to the city at that time. Among 
other things he called attention to the important and responsible trust 
committed to them. He dwelt at lengtli upon the paramount import- 
ance of a good system of public schools by which the children of the 
city could be educated at a comparatively small cost, many of them 
at no cost at all. He recommended the appointment of a suitable 
committee to thoroughly investigate the system of public schools as 
adopted in other cities, and then the propriety of submitting to a vote 
of the people the proposition to borrow a sufficient amount of money 
for the purposes in view. 

He also recommended the building of a Court room, Council 
room and prison, all to be included in one building. He recommended 
the organization of a good fire and hook and ladder company, with 
necessarry apparatus for controlling this devastating element. He 
recommended the general and permanent improvement of the streets 
of the city. He recommended the opening of Second Street to the 
city limits and its improvement. He recommended a good plank or 
gravel road to the cemetery. He recommended a liberal policy to- 
ward market men and by proper encouragement thus aid in building 
up a market, where the citizens could be provided at a reason- 
able cost. He also recommended that the outstanding indebtedness 
in scrip and judgments held by the purchasers of Public Square lots 
be funded by the issue of a sufficient number of interest bearing 
bonds. 

The message was received and referred to a committee of the 
whole to consider and report at some future meeting of the Council. 



336 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

June 25th the following resolutions were adopted : 

'^Be it Resolved, That the Committee on Ways and Means be and they 
are instructed to report to the Council at its next regular meeting, or as soon 
thereafter as practicable, the best means ot issuing the bonds of the city, and 
state the amount of bonds that ought to be issued, the denomination thereof, 
the rate of interest they ought to bear, the time they ought to mature, the prob- 
ability of selling said bonds and for what amount, and all other facts in rela- 
tion thereto which in their judgment may seem proper. 

^*Be it resolved further^ That the Mayor appoint a committee of five either 
of Councilmen or other citizens, any three of whom may act. who are request- 
ed to ascertain and report to the Council, at their earliest convenience, upon 
the best manner of establishing a public school in Henderson, and they wi'l 
state particularly what sum it will require to build and put in operation said 
school, the cost ot conducting the same, the best system of its government in 
all particulars, the character of building required, and all facts in relation to 
the subject they may deem proper " 

On the fourth day of August this committee reported, recommend- 
ing the preparation and passage of an act by the Legislature, giving 
the city full power to issue bonds and erect suitable buildings in which 
to carry on public schools; also, to authorize the city to 'borrow money 
by issuing her bonds, etc. 

Concerning the proposition to fund the outstanding indebtedness 
of the city, January 19th, 1869, an act was drawn and adopted by the 
Council authorizing the Council to issue the bonds of the city for 
that purpose. This act was passed by the Legislature and approved 
by the Governor June 16th. 

The Mayor was instructed to have printed and engraved $50,000 
of city bonds and report his acts. July 6th, the bonds were reported 
to the Council, and upon motion the Mayor was directed to advertize 
requesting all persons holding scrip, judgments or other evidences of 
indebtedness against the city to come forward and report, and if satis- 
factory to take up the same by substituting in lieu thereof the bonds of 
the city payable thirty years after date bearing ten per cent, interest. 
This proposition proved a great success. All creditors were satisfied, 
and in three weeks' time, or as soon as the work could be completed, 
the Mayor had taken in, by substituting bonds, the entire outstand- 
ing scrip, judgment, and Public Square indebtedness, amounting to 
nearly $50,000. 

On the seventh day of September the Mayor reported in full his 
acts, and upon full investigation by the Finance Committee, the same 
was unanimously approved by the Council. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 337 

Prior to this time the city had no money, and could borrow none, 
but few citizens outside of the Council knew this. There was an im- 
mense amount of improvement going on, and other work being con- 
tracted for at each meeting of the^Council. Progress was the motto, 
and a trust to luck for the money to foot the bills was the understand- 
ing. It has been said the city at one time could not borrow money- 
To verify this : On the 3d day of November, 1868, the city needed 
$5,000. Application was made to both banks and moneyed men, but 
it could not be had. It was necessary to raise this amount or else 
let the whole business go to the wall. Seeing this, Mayor Starling 
and Councilmen William F. Reutlinger, and Leroy Martin, borrowed 
on their individual 'credit the amount of five thousand dollars, and 
relie\ed the city, taking a pledge from the Council that the amount 
should be refunded from the revenues to be collected. Several times 
during the year the members of the Council borrowed sums of money 
on their individual credit and loaned the same to the city, to enable 
her to carry on public work then under contract. 

Under the funding act the city was relieved, and soon after a 
Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners was organized, under a special 
act of the Legislature, with power to hold and use the various reve- 
nues specified for the purpose of reducing the outstanding debt and 
paying interest. 

As I proceed with this itemized history, the reader will see what 
an amount of public work was done, and will agree with a previous 
statement made, that the substantial and solid growth of the city dates 
back to the new charter of 1867. No one will ever know, but those 
who were actively employed, the immense amount of labor entailed 
upon the Councils of 1866, '67, '68, '69, '70 and '71, the manner in 
which they managed public affairs, conducted the multiplied improve- 
ments of the city, including streets, wharves, and public buildings, 
the levying of taxes, the collection of revenues, etc., etc. 

August 4th, 1868, the Market House had become too small, and 
another section, nearly equal to the original in size, was added to it 

August 25th, pavements around the Court House, on First and 
Main Streets, and on First to the river, and on Lower Main, were or- 
dered laid down. 

The extension of the gas mains and erection of street lamps 
was ordered in every direction where it was judged by the Council 
the extension would pay ten per cent, upon the investment. 

22 



338 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Septt'mber 15th, a contract was made with Collins & O'Byrne to 
grade, giitier and curb Green Street, from First to Upper Third 
Street, to completely finish Main from Second to Lower Fourth Street. 
Clay and Fagan Streets were received and ordered opened sixty feet 
wide to the cemetery. 

October 6ih, a contract was entered into with Haffey & Stapp to 
grade and pa\e Third Street to low water mark, in the same manner 
the Main wharf had been done. 

November 17th, Second Street was purchased through the Breck- 
enridge property, and ordered opened to the limits of the city at the 
bridge. 

In July, 1868, an organization known as the '* Kuklux " appeared 
upon the streets of the city at night, alarming many citizens of the 
city, and committing, in one or more instances, acts contrary to law 
and order. It was said — with how much truth, however, is not known 
— that many of the best citizens of the city were members of the clan, 
and that its organization was intended to assist good government and 
the enforcement of the laws, that that portion of the organization were 
as much opposed to anything in the shape of outlawry as any citi- 
zen who refused to countenance the movement. Yet the movement 
was regarded generally as a dangerous one, calculated to do no good, 
but, on the contrary, to become the source of great evil. The Coun- 
cil regarded it as dangerous to the peace of society, ill-timed, and ab- 
solutely unnecessary, unlawful, and uncalled for, and therefore deter- 
mined, at all hazards, to suppress it, first by persuasion, if possible, if 
not, then by force, no matter how that force was secured or from 
whence it came. 

On the twenty-seventh day of July the following ordinance was 
passed : 

" Be It ordained by the Mayor and Common Council: First — That it 
shall be unlawful for any person to appear on the streets, alleys or highways 
of the city in mask or with his face or person so disguised that he cannot be 
recognized by casual observation of his acquaintance, and for each offense 
said person shall be fined not less than fitty nor more than one hundred dol- 
lars to be recovered by warrant or other fines, 

'* Second — It is hereby made the special duty of the Marshal and police 
to arrest all parties violating this ordinance, and for this purpose they shall 
have the power to call to their assistance any citizen of the city, and for a 
failure of the Marshal or police to faithfully discharge their duty, he or they 
shall be fined twenty-five dollars, and for a failure of such citizen to aid in ar- 
resting such person or persons, violating the first section of the ordinance, he 
or thev shall be fined ten dollars 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 339 

" Be it further ordained, that the Mayor forthwith issue a proclamation 
calling upon all citizens to desist from appearing in disguise by day or ni^ht, 
disturbing the quiet of the city, and to warn them that if persisted in imme- 
diate measures will be taken to punish. them." 

Whereupon the Mayor issued the following proclamation : 
** To all whom it may concenr: 

'Your attention is called to the above ordinance, passed by the City 
Council at its meeting of Monday night last. In accordance therewith, you 
are earnestly requested to desist from any further such exhibitions of masks, 
guns, weapons and pretenses of authority unknown to and unrecognized by 
the law, as have attended your frequent appearances in the streets of the city 
within the past few weeks. The object of your organization and its plans and 
purposes I do not know, nor do I propose to inquire. That it is calculated in 
its etfects to do great and irremediable injury to the best interests of the com- 
munity, no right-thinking and prudent person will deny, and it will, if con- 
tinued, result in mischief, no one who has regarded the rise and pro^-ress of 
similar organizations in other localities, can doubt. If it be said it was organ- 
ized to reform abuses, which its members imagine exist in the community, I 
answer the laws are in full force and will be vindicated by a prompt resort to 
the remedies whenever they are known to be violated, besides the administra- 
tors of the law are men of your own choosing. If they fail to do their dutv 
the remedy is in yours and the hands of other citizens, and it is with vou and 
them to apply it. If your organization has for its object nothing beyond the 
indulgence of what you may regard as a little harmless pleasantry, through 
the media of masks and horns and howls, I answer, that such exhibitions are 
unseemly, annoying and mischievous, for the}' have been accompanied more 
than once with the display and use of weapons and the utterance of threats 
against those who are entitled to the p/otection of the law, and have resulted, 
too, in terrifying many peaceable and well disposed citizens. 

" If, as many persons suppose, this organization was intended to keep in 
subjection, to order and law, and to enforcr- habits o^ndustry and a respect 
for the observance of their contracts for labor, a certain class of our popula- 
tion, I answer, that class is ammenable to the law, and is entitled to the pro- 
tection of the .aw as much as any other, and that its members have been gener- 
ally well-behavfcd and orderly, and industriously engaged in maintainino- them- 
selves and families. This intended or threatened interference with their rio-hts, 
whether real or maginary, works a great injustice to that class, and will result 
in injury and damage to their employer, for some of them have been already, 
and many more will be, trightened into an abandonment of their contract for 
labor, leaving numberless fields untitled and crops unharvested. The tolera- 
tion of such an organization in our midst for any length of time will also have 
the tendency to induce some of our best citizens to seek more quiet and safer 
localities, while many who might otherwise be disposed to bring their capital 
to our growing and prosperous city for investment, will be deterred from do- 
ing so by its existence. Certainly its members, who probably have an equal 
interest with all our citizens in this matter, are not willing to see this result 
brought about by their agency. 



340 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

*• Then, when it is considered how many outrages may be committed 
under the color and seeming sanction of tliis organization it is hoped that the 
most thoughtless of the members may be induced to abandon and discontin- 
uance it. A band of highwaymen taking advantage of the fact that this organi- 
zation exhibits itself unmolested in our streets, may any night, disguised as they 
are generally, penetrate the city and rob the bariks and stores and escape un- 
harmed to their hiding places, and a cowardly villian, malignant and thirsting 
for blood, may safely and surely, under the assumed mask ol this organization, 
take the life of a good citizen, whom he fancies has wronged him 

** Viewed in the length of all the consequences which will flow from it 
the organization is wrong, unnecessary and dangerous and ought to be aban- 
doned, or failing in that, suppressed. I therefore earnestly urge upon all its 
members, a prompt compliance with the ordinance above cited, lay aside for- 
ever your masks, make no more parades upon the streets and alleys of the 
city, and show yourselves supporters of the laws as they are. liut if you will 
not do this, it will be my imperative duty to see the observance strictly en - 
forced, and I shall certainly dq so to the extent of the powers vested in me. 
Respectfully, *' E. L. STARLING. 

This proclamation was received in good part so far as the fact 
could be known, and many of the leading members of the clan de- 
termined to abide by the advice given. There were others, though, 
who preferred to resist the authority of the law, and did turn out 
again. Mention has been made of the attack upon the county jail* 
Upon this movement being made the Council appropriated one thou- 
sand dollars and passed the following ordinance : 

•' Be it ordained, that the Mayor is authorized to employ such additional 
police as he may think necessary, for such length of time as he may see proper, 
and at a compensation not exceeding that received by the present police." 

It was understood that this force should not be known and that 
its duties should be to detect members and report their names. The 
authority of the law began to close around the boys a little closer 
than they had suspected, and many interviews were held with the 
Mayor by those suspected of being members One youngster who 
was going to leave the city to make his home elsewhere, ventured as a 
friend to confess his connection with the clan and to furnish a full 
list of the membership. 

Whether this young Kuklux told the truth or not has never been 
known. It is enough to know that the law-abiding portion of the 
clan saw the folly and danger to come out of such nonsense and 
were mainly instrumental, and finally succeeded in disbanding the or- 
ganization. They held their last parade with the distinct understand- 
ing that that was to be the last, proceeded to the lower end of the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 341 

city, fired off their guns, pistols, etc., made peace with the world and 
nothin<y more has ever been heard of them as a military organization. 
Good men belonged to the ICuklux beyond question, and upon 
going into it thought it a good thing just at that time. They soon 
saw the danger, however, and deserve credit for bringing about its 
disbandment. 

It is due to the city to say that no single member of the Council 
entertained a desire to do more than his duty, they were opposed to 
the organization and determined upon its suppression, no matter the 
cost. 

They recognized the fact that friends were i.i the ranks, and yet 
if these friends would not consent to be governed by good advice, 
and abide by the laws, then if they suffered from any source it was 
their misfortune and not the wish or fault of the Council. 

During the year 1868, the residences of William T. Barret, now 
John H. Barret, Jr., A. S. Nunn, now Colonel Jackson McClain, Allen 
Gilmour, now Colonel W. S. Elams, E. L. Starling's store house, now 
James R. Barret's, and Robert Dixon's brick three-story livery stable 
were built. 

1869. 

The old Johnson two-story brick, corner First and Main, was 
torn down, and the real estate divided into nine lots, four fronting 
on Main Street and five fronting on First Street. The four fronting 
Main were sold for the following prices: $125, SlOO, $100 and $96 
per foot. The five fronting First were sold for $73, $62, $60, $54 
and $54 per foot. 

February 2d, the first meeting of the City Council was held in 
the new Council roofn fitted up on the Public Square. 

February 6th, D. R. Burbank paid $42.55 per hundred pounds 
for tobacco 

Thursday, March 10th. Richard Powell, son of Governor L. W. 
Powell, was killed by Stanley Young on the pavement in front of 
Judge P. H. Hillyer's book store on Main Street, three doors above 
First. 

The Episcopal Diocesan Convention met in St. Paul's Church in 
May, and was attended by Governors John W. Stevenson, Merri- 
weather and other distinguished gentlemen. 

Saturday, August 7th, there was a total eclipse of the sun. This 
occurred between 4 and 5 o'clock, and so complete was the eclipse 



342 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

chickens went to roost, to find themselves a short while after sitting 
in the broiling hot sun. 

May 4th, an ordinance was passed, directing a fitty-foot fill to 
be made between Third and Fourth upper cross streets on Water, 
and the same to be guttered, curbed and graveled. There was no 
street there at the time, nothing save a great ravine, gradually eating 
its way into the Atkinson Square beyond the corner of Third and 
Water Streets. The fill was made, and the improvement has proved 
a blessing to the city. 

June 8th, a book of laws and ordinances was ordered prepared 
for publication. This book was prepared by Captain R. H. Cun- 
ningham and printed by Ben Harrison. Work highly creditable to 
both gentlemen. 

June 15th, an ordinance was passed, directing a fifty-foot street to 
be made along Wjter Street from the intersection of Fourth, to the 
intersection of Fifth upper cross street in front of the Hugh Kerr 
properly. This fill was made and the street improved as that part 
between Third and Fourth. 

August olst, a compromise was effected with George F. Beatty, 
whereby the city became the purchaser of one hundred feet of ground 
in width, running through the old Ingram property, on First Street 
from Ingram to Adams Street. 

August 31st, the city leased to D. R. Burbank for distilling pur- 
poses all that part of the river front lying below the salt wells and in 
front of lots Nos. 37, 40, 41. During the year Mr. Burbank built his 
twenty barrel distillery, the first of the kind ever built in the county. 

October 19th, Plank Road, or the continuation of Third upper 
cross street, was received and established fifty feet wide. 

1870. 

The population of Henderson, as given by the official census, 
was 4,158, divided as follows : First Ward, 692 ; Second, 806 ; Third, 
1,326 ; Fourth, 1,334. 

March 11th, an act of the Legislature was approved, incorpor- 
ating W. B. Woodruff, Geo. M. Priest, E. W. Worsham, John C. Stapp 
and P. A. Blackwell under the name and style of the " Deposit Bank," 
with an authorized capital of $50,000. 

June 7th, a contract was entered into by and between the city 
and railroad, authorizing the road to haul coal over Fourth Street to 
the river front and the privilege of building a coal tipple between the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON OUNTY, KY. 343 

line of Water Street and the river. This expensive wooden structure 
was built, but proved worthless for the purposes for which it was in- 
tended, and was a few years after^orn down by order of the Council. 
July 27th, the following assessments of property for taxation 
was reported ' For school, $2,638,723. On this amount a tax of 30 
cents on the $100 was levied to pay the interest on the bonds issued 
for erecting and furnishing the school building, and 15 cents for pay- 
in- salaries of teachers, etc.; for railroad, $2,863,133. On this 
amount a tax of 87 1-2 cents upon the $100 was levied for the pur- 
pose of i-aving the interest (and expenses of collecting) on the bonds 
issued to the E., H. & N. R. R. The city tax was fixed at 75 cents. 
August 2d, a committee was appointed and directed to report the 
best and cheapest plan for supplying the city with water. Septem- 
ber 6th, a petition, signed by a large number of citizens, was pre- 
sented to the Council, praying that body to submit to the quahfied 
voters," Shall bonds be issued for the building of water works ?'' This 
was the beginning of the water works. 

During the summer and fall of this year Messrs. W. P.. Wooruff 
& Co. built'' the large ice house on Water Street, adjoining Woodruff 
Hall and in the early spring of 1871 purchased and packed two hun- 
dred' tons of lake ice for the comfort and convenience of the general 

public. 

Mr. Robert Dixon, during the fall, re-floored the third-story room 
of his large brick building, on the corner of First and Elm Streets, 
for the pu%ose of " roller skating," and threw it open for the enjoy- 
ment of the amusement-loving public. 

1871. 

The Council having submitted for years to second-story rooms 
and unsuitable and uncomfortable places wherein to hold their meet- 
ings, and to exhorbitant charges for keeping and feeding city prison- 
ers, determined to erect a building combining Council Chamber, 
Clerk's office, Mayor's and other offices, prison and station rooms. 

February 22d a resolution was adopted to build such a house, 
and a commiuee appointed to procure plans and specifications and 
report cost. October 24th George W. Fallon furnished a plan and 
accompanying specifications and the same were adopted. 

May 7th, 1872, a contract was entered into by and between the 
city and' Digman& Kyle to build the house, the same to be eighty 
feet in length by thirty feet in width. 



344 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

March 19th, 1872, the county had determined to build a new 
jail, and by order of the Commissioners the old jail was exposed to 
sale at public outcry. At this sale the city became the purchaser for 
a mere nominal sum. The old prison was soon torn down . and all 
material of any value safely stored away, to be used in building the 
City Hall and prison. This purchase proved to be a most judicious 
one, for by it the city secured all the iron doors, frames, grating, etc., 
necessary to be used in the new building. In addition this, one hun- 
dred thousand or more good brick were saved from the ruins, and 
enough fiag stones to lay the pavement in front of the building. After 
reserving all material of value the remainder was sold for more than 
enough to satisfy the purchase bid. 

This building was completed at a cost of near $17,000 and was 
occupied by the Council for the first time on July 15th, 1873. It is a 
magnificent building and stands to-day an evidence of the taste and 
good judgment of the Council who conceived the idea of its building. 

" The " South Kentucky " Narrow Gauge Railroad Co'mpany 
having been chartered by the Legislature March 15th, G. M. Alves, 
City Engineer, was employed to make a preliminary survey, which he 
did in April. September 11th an ordinance was passed by the Com- 
mon Council directing the sense of the qualified voters to be taken 
upon the propriety of the city subscribing for six hundred shares of 
stock. This election was held September 23d and resulted in 180 
voles being polled for the proposition and 50 opposed to it. 

October 3d the Mayor was directed to subscribe for six hundred 
shares, $50 each, making $30,000, and on January 23d, 1872, the 
Council appriated $500 to assist in making necessary surveys. 

A Board of Directors was elected, but for many reasons nothing 
more than has been enumerated, has ever been effected. 

May 2d, Thomas F. Cheany, appointed for the purpose, reported 
923 children of legal school age, living in the city. 

From the completion of the Evansville, Henderson & Nashville 
Railroad there had been manifested by the management a determin- 
ation to reach the water line of the Ohio River, even though the 
rights of the city had to be trampled under foot. There was at the 
time a positive contract between the city and railroad company that 
no cars or engines should be run over Fourth Street only so far as 
stipulated, certainly no passengers or freight trains were to run to the 
river. This agreement, which was quite satisfactory to the company 
when money was asked to aid in completing the road, had become 




CITY HALIi. 



I 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 345 

since its compleiion equally as distaseful and annoying. An outlet 
was wanted, and for this the company was unwilling to remunerate 
the city. ^ 

Conceiving the idea that for the purpose of transporting the 
United States mails, engines and cars should be run to the river and 
no interference by the city would result, on the sixteenth day of 
May an engine, mail, express and passenger coaches attached, rushed 
over the forbidden track to Water Street. This was a nice dodge, an 
unscrupulous company embraced (shielding itself behind the sup- 
posed interference of the United States) to violate and trample under 
foot a positive agreement made and entered into, presumably in good 
faith. The Mayor of the city witnessed this gross violation of right and 
immediately applied to those in authority to find out its meaning. 
Finding a settled determination on the part of the company to sub- 
mit no longer to the agreement, but to force trains to Water Street 
under the pretense of carrying the United States mail, he applied to 
Judge S. B. Vance, and that able, clear-headed lawyer drew an in- 
genious ordinance, not only attacking the flanks, but the rear of the 

company in such i way as to compel its surrender a short time there- 
after. 

General Boyle, then President of the company, and those who 
had advised with him, had never taken the view embraced in the or- 
dinance, and were therefore completely outgeneraled. A meeting of 
the Council was called and the ordinance passed without a dissenting 
voice to take effect from its publication. Several days passed before 
the ordinance could be made operative, and dqring that time trains 
ran unmolested to Water Street. 

This ordinance did not deal directly with the company, but at- 
tacked those in its employ. It prescribed a fine of fifty to one hun- 
dred dollars to be laid against each and every employe, engineer, 
conductor, brakeman or other person detected in running a train of 
cars between the depot and Water Street. The Superintendent of 
the road, one Hugh Pitcairne, with his headquarters in Hopkinsville, 
directed the movements of the trains by use of the wire connecting 
the two cities. He was a wiley fellow, cute and unscrupulous. He 
hesitated to do nothing in the interest of his masters and partook 
strongly of their rebellious and dishonest spirit. He heard of the 
ordinance and cut his cloth to suit the municipal garment, in short, 
he directed his trains to be run to Water Street, with no one 
but the engineer and one brakeman. Upon one occasion there was 
no one but the engineer and mail agent. The first day after the or^ 



346 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

dinance had become law, two policemen were stationed between Main 
and Water about train time. Soon the train came along, the em- 
ployes whistling and thinking little, if anything, of what was in store 
for them. Upon halting at Water Street each employe was sum- 
moned to appear before the Police Court. At this they smiled an 
uncertain smile as the train backed back to the depot. Next day new 
men were on the train and they too in turn were summoned to appear 
before the Police Court. Fines were assessed, and yet these fellows 
thought the city was indulging a little game of bluff. About the third 
day five employes, ij;icluding two engineers, one conductor and two 
brakemen, in an unguarded moment, were arrested and straightway 
marched to jail. Not until they were looking out from behind the 
great iron doors and exercising their teeth upon the toughest of diet 
did they realize the serious attitude in which a man placed himself 
who attempted to violate the law. They refused to be bailed by their 
city friends, but demanded that those who had gotten them there 
should see to their release. The fourth evening another batch was 
incarcerated, and the engineer, rather than suffer a similar fate, 
jumped his engine and left it with train attached standing in the street 
between Main and Water, where it remained for several days. 

Superintendent Pitcairne could get no one to venture from the 
depot to the river. One engine and a train of cars was standing idle 
in the street, and no one could be induced to remove it. The magni- 
tude of the situation induced him to tear his hair and anathematize 
Henderson, yet no relief came to him. He could stand it no longer, 
so he ventured from his Hopkinsville headquarter to visit Henderson 
and by his august presence intimidate the authorities, throw open the 
prison doors and visit vengeance upon those who had dared to inter- 
fere with his plans. He, however, alighted from the train a few hun- 
dred yards outside of the city limits and took a birds-eye view of the 
depot surroundings by the aid of a field-glass. Failing to discover 
an officer of the city in sight he ventured in, but in fifteen minutes 
afterwards was se°n marching down the street between two police 
going in the direction of the county jail. He fumed and protested, 
he threatened to bring in a troop of negro soldiers, and yet the police 
minded him not. A few minutes later the great prison door was 
opened and he ushered into the company of his engineers, conduc- 
tors and brnkemen. He swore he would rot in jail, but he didn't. 
His men swore they would sue the company and nothing short cf a 
compromise kept them from it. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 347 

Superintendent Pitcairne took two meals in jail, changed his 
mind, pledged the revenues of the road to any citizen who would bail 
him and his men and soon left^lhe town. 

His dignity was completely destroyed, the importance of his po- 
sition manifestly insignificant, and two days afterwards he begged to 
be permitted to remove his engine and train, which had stood in the 
street for a week without steam, back to the depot. 

By this time the county jail had become such terror the Mayor 
was forced to accompany an engineer to the engine in order to assure 
him that he would not be molested in raising steam and then backing 
back to the depot. 

These were exciting times, and all the while the United States 
mail or the agent had never been molested. This important func- 
tionary was permitted to ride down to Water Street unnoticed, 
and afterwards to foot it or take passage in an express wagon 
suited his pleasure. One of their dignitaries, tpo lazy to walk, and 
too important to ride in a country wagon, reported the city authori- 
ties to the Postmaster General. 

An agent of the Postal Department was dispatched to Hender- 
son to investigate the charges preferred, and, having heard the evi- 
dence, unhesitatingly endorsed the action of the city. No more cars 
were run to Water street, but the judgments recovered in the City 
Court amounted to over two thousand dollars. Immediately after the 
release of Superintendent Pitcairn, General Boyle instituted suit in 
the United States Court, at Louisville, against the city, for the right 
of way and damage. 

The stoppage of the United States mails in the streets of the 
city was one of the allegations in this remarkable petition. 

May 29th, the Common Council directed the Mayor, City Attor- 
ney, Judge Eaves and Judge S. B. Vance, to proceed to Louisville 
and enter defense to the suit of the American Contract Company, 
and the Mayor authorized and empowered to employ additional and 
experienced counsel in that city. Hon. Isaac Caldwell was employed, 
and, at his instance, Hon. Harvey Yeaman, whom the City of Hender" 
son delighted to honor, not alone on account of his eminent legal 
qualifications, but his high and noble personal and social culture, was 
associated with him. 

An answer was filed and the case continued to July. During the 
time, the officers of the city busied themselves securing evidence and 
in various ways fortifying the defense. 



348 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

July came, and on the sixth day of that month the case was 
reached and called for trial. Both parties announced themselves 
ready. The city, by her attorneys, filed a demurrer to the petition, 
and upon the trial of this hung the fate of General Boyle and his 
company. The papers were read and Judge Ballard, without listen- 
ing to a prepared speech from either side, sustained the demurrer- 
He even decided that if a mail agent (whose importance had been 
so magnified and relied upon by the plaintiffs) had violated a law, he 
too was as much liable to arrest as any officer of the train. This de- 
cision was a death blow to General Boyle. It must have been, for 
this peculiarly great man could not restrain a tear or two. 

A few months subsequent to this trial, the American Contract 
Company sold the road and its franchises to Winslow and Wilson, of 
the St. Louis & Southeastern Railroad, running from Evansville to 
St. Louis. 

July 5th, 1872, the Mayor called the attention of the Council, in 
a message, to a meeting to be held in Hopkinsville, July 29th, for the 
purpose of consolidating the two roads, and thereupon the following 
named gentlemen were appointed to report what policy should be 
adopted by the city : James F. Clay, S. B. Vance, Henry F. Turner, 
John O'Byrne, Ben. Harrison, T. M. Jenkins, Governor A. Dixon, 
William S. Johnson, N. H. Barnard, John C. Stapp and P. H. King. 
July 26th, the committee reported to the Council as follows : 

"After mature consultation your committee reports the following: 

Rf solved, That from all the information we have, it will be to the interest 
of the Citv of Henderson for a consolidation of the E., H. & N. R. R. with 
the St. Louis & Southeastern and the Edgefield & Kentucky Railroad, if the 
same can be made upon equitable terms; and we therefore recommend that 
the City Council so direct the vote of the stock, and upon the best terms they 
can make. JAMES F. CLAY, Chairman. 

"BEN. HARRISON, Secretary." 

This report was adopted by the Council, and the Mayor instructed 
to attend the meeting at Hopkinsville, and so vote the stock of the 
city. The proposition to consolidate the three roads was carried by 
an overwhelming majority. 

September 5th, 1872, an ordinance was passed granting perma- 
nent right of way over Fourth street, with the right to build to low 
water mark, to establish a transfer for freight and passengers, under 
an agreement between the city and the St. Louis & Southeastern Rail- 
road, consolidated. There were many stipulations in this agreement, 
the most important, that Henderson should not be discriminated against 
in shipments of freights ; that the machine shops of this division should 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 349 

be established here, and that the sum of two thousand dollars recov- 
ered in judgments against the employes of the E., H. & N. should 
be paid. The two thousand dollars was paid by General Winslow, 
and with that ended the Boyle-Pitcairne farce. 

The following handsome buildings were erected during this year : 
Hon. M. Yeaman's residence, Haffey, Fleming & Clores block of 
three-story brick store houses, corner Main and First Streets, the 
Planters' Bank and C. H. [ohnson & Bros, book store. 

December 1st, a committee composed of several members of the 
Council, and other citizens was appointed to co-operate with a com- 
mittee from Vanderburgh County, Indiana, for the purpose of organ- 
izing a short line railroad company connecting the two cities of Hen- 
derson and Evansville. This connection was to be made on the In- 
diana side, and in order to encourage the subscription of a sufficient 
sum for the purpose, upon the recommendation of the Mayor he was 
authorized to subscribe the sum of fifteen thousand dollars for and 
in behalf of the city. This proposition failed to materialize, owing 
to the fact the people on the Indiana side failed or refused to give it 
the necessary encouragement. 

1872. 

January 2d, the inhabitants, that is, many of them, were consid- 
erably exercised over the passage of a compulsory vaccination ordi- 
nance. 

March 19th, for the purpose of encouraging manufactories, an 
ordinance was passed releasing manufactories, where the building and 
machinery was worth in the aggregate ten thousand dollars in cash, 
from taxation for city purposes for the term of five years. 

In November of this year that very remarkable horse disease 
known as the "epizootic " swept the country. Henderson, as well as 
other cities, suffered on account of it, and to relieve the pressing 
need of teams, December 7th an ordinance was passed permitting 
teams from the country or elsewhere to haul throughout the city limits 
free of license. All of the livery horses, as well as those belonging 
to private stables, were more or less affected, yet but few losses oc- 
curred on account of it. This was a blood and lung disease and was 
easily detected by the following symptoms : At the beginning the 
animal exhibited a drowsy, mopy disposition, then a swelling of the 
under jaw and legs, then a continued hacking cough, then heavy dis- 
charges of mucous from the nose. A drench of linseed oil, sweet 
spirits of nitre, quinine and gum goaccum, in proportionate parts, 
and the animal kept heavily blanketed, effected a sure cure. 



350 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

In 1881 a disease somewhat similar made its appearance. This 
was called the " Pink Eye " and evidenced itself in the horse by 
swelling, mattery eyes and leg swelling. This was a kidney disease, 
and the same drench used as in the "Epizootic." In addition to this 
Captain Thomas Gilligan, who treated a number of horses with won- 
derful success, used a prescription made of proportionate parts of 
powdered gentian, sassafras, skunk cabbage, cream tartar, sal nitre, 
pulverized ginger, sulphur, digitalis, blood root and berchie leaves. 
This was made into a powder and fed twice a day in bran. 

Preliminary steps were taken during the fall looking to the build- 
ing of the bridge across the Ohio. 

1873. 

April 5th, the city purchased the present hospital site and build- 
ing of Mrs. Sterling Payne. 

June 3d, F. W. Reutlinger, executor of the will of John Pernet, 
tendered the City Council one hundred dollars, an amount directed 
by the testator to be given to 'he poor of Henderson. This generous 
public benefaction was appropriately accepted by the Council and 
placed to the credit of a special fund to be disposed of as intended 
by the gracious donor. 

Early in the month of May the stern wheel steamboat ''Collier" 
sank at the wharf foot of Second Street. She was permitted to re- 
main unmolested, except by the current, until the third day of June, 
when an order was passed by the Council directing her removal. A 
few weeks after a contract was entered into with Captain Hiram Hill, 
the noted submarine diver and wrecker, at and for the sum of $1,'200, 
to remove the wreck. On the 17th day of December he completed 
his work. The owners of the boat brought suit against the city, but 
failed to make a case. 

September 2d, the severe restrictions placed upon the sale of \ ege- 
tables, fish, meats, etc., were removed. 

November 4 1th, the first Hook and Ladder wagon, together with 
a full complement of buckets, ladders, etc., was purchased of B. Bruce 
& Co., of Cincinnati, at a cost of one thousand dollars. 

1874. 

On the 16th day of February, Hon. Jacob Held qualified and 
assumed the duties of Mayor of the city. The new administration 
directed the Finance Committee, and very properly, to report the 
financial condition of the city. On the 3d day of March this com- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 351 

mittee reported the assets of the city amounting to $563,643.84 ; lia- 
bilities, $429,411.09; assets in excess of liabilities, $134,232.75. 

March 24th, by order of the Council, seconded by the County 
Court, the beautiful shade trees*novv surrounding Court House Square 
were planted out. 

May 5th, Thomas F. Cheaney, School Enumerator, reported in 
the city 1,118 white children between the ages of six and twenty 
years, and 418 colored children between the ages of six and sixteen. 

May 20th, the press of Kentucky met here in convention, and 
were elegantly entertained. For this purpose, in addition to hand- 
some sums contributed by citizens, the City Council donated six hun- 
dred dollars. 

1875. 

On the 15th day of February Rescue Hook and Ladder Com 
pany tendered its services to the city, and was received as a volun- 
teer fire company. 

In the spring of this year, 1875, the State Medical Society held 
its annual meeting in Henderson, attended by very many disting- 
uished members of the profession. 

The society was elegantly entertained by Dr. P. Thompson. 
David Clark, Thomas Soaper and E. L. Starling. 

October 5th a contract was entered into with Delker & Blondin 
for the building of the first horse wagon ever owned by the City of 
Henderson at and for the price of $375. 

October 5th the Superintendent of the Public School reported 
the total enrolment of pupils 785. Of this number 382 were boys 
and 403 were girls. Daily attendance, 587. 

March 16th the remains of the five men shot by Colonel Glenn's 
troops during the war and interred near the water works grounds, 
were exhumed by order of the Council and buried in the City Ceme- 
tery. 

A valuable lithograph map of the city by G. M. Alves, City En- 
gineer, was offered for sale during the month of March. 

The delinquent lists returned by the Marshal for 1873, four and 
five, were very large and the sales of property for taxes due were 
alarming. 

The Jay Cooke panic had had its effect, and this, coupled with 
the very high taxation impos'ed upon the people, was more than very 



352 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

many of them were able to contend with. 

The distress of the people necessarily crippled the city govern- 
ment, yet under all of these unlooked for circumstances the city man- 
aged to pull through by exercising close and scrutinizing economy. 

A report of the City Clerk of amounts received and disbursed 
from September 1st, 1874, to September 7th, 1875, inclusive, shows 
$67,738.99 received and $67,824.74 disbursed, showing the disburse- 
ments to exceed the receipts only $85.75. 

September 7th the administration of Mayor Jacob Held termin- 
ated by limitation, and upon retiring Mr. Held delivered an appro- 
propriate an.d feeling valedictory. 

Hon. John C. Atkinson upon assuming the responsible position 
just vacated by the Hon. Jacob Held, read his inaugural address, a 
paper of considerable length, but full of most excellent suggestions. 
This paper showed that the executive fully comprehended the wishes 
and wants of the people, and in dealing with matters of public con- 
cern was clear, strong and graceful. After having called the atten- 
tion of the Council to the importance of the trusts committed to its 
keeping, he argued that the debt of the city should not be extended 
beyond what it then was, and that the taxes must in no event be in- 
creased, and that the strictest economy should be exercised in every 
department of the city government. In the exercise of retrenchment 
and economy, he urged the Council to examine into various offices 
made subject to its control by the charter, and ascertain whether or 
not they were indispensible to the proper working of the municipal 
machinery. He urged the abolishment of all offices which could be, 
without material detriment to the public service, to inquire into the 
amount of salaries, and if found too high, cut them down to an 
amount considered a fair compensation for the work rendered. He 
argued that existing salaries were fixed at a time when general pros- 
perity prevailed and money possessed a less value, but a time of 
business depression, and where labor was seeking in vain its just re- 
ward, that salaries and expenses should be reduced and made to con. 
form to the standard of values then existing in other departments of 
business. He urged the Council to make some provision for the pay- 
ment of the bonds falling due in less than twelve years, to the import- 
ance of the sinking fund, to the heavy debt of the city and large 
amount of interest to be paid semi-annually. 

The Mayor dwelt at some length upon the pride the Council 
should feel in the advantages possessed by Henderson. Its spacious 
wharf, broad and well paved streets, its well appointed gas works 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 353 

giving free of charge more street lamps than any city of similar size, 
its water works, which would afford an abundant supply of pure 
water for all purposes, its beautiful city of the dead, where death is 
robbed of half his terrors, its public schools, where all of the youth 
within the limits of the corporation, both white and colored, are in- 
structed. These he urged were the city's jewels of priceless value 
and should be closely watched and nourished. 

He paid a high compliment to those public-spirited citizens who 
composed the " Rescue Hook and Ladder Company," who, without 
the hope of fee or reward, save the consciousness of a duty performed 
in mitigating or pre^'enting the misfortune of those unhappy citizens 
whose toil of a lifetime is threatened with destruction in an hour, hold 
themselves in readiness to brave all the dangers incident to a fire- 
man's life. 

In conclusion, the Mayor said : " A united and harmonious city 
government striving to promote the happiness and prosperity of all, 
even the humblest citizen, and animated by an earnest desire to dis- 
charge their duty, will certainly accomplish much. We have fallen 
on troublous times for the past two years, the business of the coun- 
trv has been deranged and trade is not found in its accustomed chan- 
nels, but this condition must shortly have an end. The signs of a 
change are favorable and already streaks of light of the coming day 
mark the horizen, and but a few months will elapse before the hus- 
bandman will again receive the promised reward of his labor, the 
busy hum of industry will be heard as loud as ever on our streets, labor 
will not seek in vain for its accustomed employment and the ring of 
the anvil and the trowel and the noise of the hammer and saw will 
make sweetest music for our ears." 

The tax levied for 1875 was 85 cents for city purposes, 60 cents 
for school, 90 cents for railroad and 50 cents to pay interest on water 
works bonds, making a total of $2.85 on each $100 of valuation. In 
addition to this a poll-tax of $2 on each male citizen over the age of 
twenty-one years. 

To collect this tax was a very difficult matter and in very many 
cases absolutely impossible. In many cases the Collector was com- 
pelled to sell realty and personalty, and altogether the burden was 
something terrible. Therefore it was the object and aim of the new 
administration to conform to the most economical views, and to there- 
by relieve the citizen taxpayer as much as possible. 

23 



354 1 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

On September 21st, the first meeting after the inauguration, the 
Retrenchment Committee reported, recommending sweeping reduc- 
tions in salaries and in some instances abolishment of offices. 

October 5lh, after being amended and added to in one or two 
particulars, the report of the committee was adopted. 

November 16th, a contract was entered into with George W. 
Scantland, for the purchase of sufficient ground for the extension of 
Adams Street, from Third to Fourth, at the L. & N. depot. 

1876. 

Outside of the completion of the water works and necessary leg- 
islation concerning that important public enterprise, nothing of ma- 
terial interest occurred during the year. 

April 25th the city alarm bell was purchased at a cost of three 
hundred and twenty dollars. 

July 18th a contract was entered into by and between the city 
and John Haffey for building the sewer, now running from the inter- 
section of First and Water Streets to the river. 

The delinquent list this year was, as for several years previous, 
distressingly large. 

1877. 

The number of children of school age reported this year was 
1112 white and 410 colored. 

May 1st the Retrenchment Committee reported in favor of issu- 
ing $98,000 in 6 and 7 per cent, bonds, to be used in redeeming the 
same amount of outstanding bonds bearing 10 per cent, interest. 
This proposition failed to be adopted by the Council. 

The assessment of property reported this year was : for city pur- 
purposes $2,162,035, lor water works $2,200,210, for school $2,147,- 
960, for railroad $2,618,190. Upon this assessment the following 
levy was made : For city 80 cents on the $100 valuation, 55 cents for 
school, $1 for railroad and 50 Qents for water works. The delinquent 
list, as in. previous years, continued to be very large. 

1878. 

A volunteer fire company, known as " Hose Company No. 1," 
tendered its services and was accepted by the city. April 16th a hose 
reel was purchased for the benefit of this company. 

January 1st, the charter was again amended, and in addition, an 
act was approved authorizing the city to fund her indebtedness. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 355 

There were outstanding at that time bonds of the city represent- 
ing two hundred thousand dollars, bearing seven per cent, interest. 
One hundred thousand dollars bearing eight per cent, interest, issued 
to aid in building the Henderson & Nashville Railroad. Twenty- 
eight thousand dollars of school bonds, bearing ten per cent, inter- 
est. Sixty-one thousand three hundred dollars of city funding bonds, 
bearing ten per cent, interest. Thirteen thousand five hundred dol- 
lars of water works extension bonds, bearing eight per cent, interest, 
and one hundred thousand dollars of water works bonds, bearing ten 
per cent, interest. The total outstanding bonded indebtedness at 
that time was $496,800, bearing an annual interest of $42,280. 
Coupled with the gradual decrease in price of all real estate, and ne- 
cessary high taxes to meet this fixed and certain interest, an outstand- 
ing scrip debt of eleven or twelve thousand dollars, and scrip below 
par, it will require but little thought to determine the difficulties Mayor 
Atkinson and his Council labored under in keeping up the ordinary 
running machinery of government, to say nothing of the city's good 
credit. Yet, considering all of this, as has been before said, the city 
never defaulted in payment of her semi-annual interest. 

By the amended charter of 1873-4, a sinking fund was established 
for the payment of the bonded debt, and among other sources of rev- 
enue specified for said fund, it was provided that the revenue derived 
from the tax on licenses and from all other specific tax should be sa- 
credly devoted to the payment of the bonded debt of the city and to 
no other purpose. The fund available to the city for expenses con- 
sisted of the ad valorem and poll tax, whatever those amounts may 
have been, and the receipts from wharfage and fines, the whole 
amounting, after deductmg commissions and delinquencies, to $22,000 
or $23,000. This amount, then, constituted the fund at the command 
of the Council to carry on the government, keep the streets in repair, 
and do such other things as were regarded absolutely necessary. It 
was evident that the people could not, or would not, suffer under this 
terrible yoke much longer. A very large majority of the people were 
beginning to consider a compromise, not a repudiating compromise, 
but one to be adjusted upon an honorable and equitable basis, while 
there were a smaller number who were in favor of scaling the bonds 
with a merciless indiscretion. This excitement continued to grow, 
yet all the while the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners, of which 
the Mayor is, and was, ex officio chairman, strived without ceasing to 
bring about a satisfactory settlement. As this history progresses we 
shall see what was the result of the compromise. 



856 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The colored school had grown to such magnitude it was found 
necessary to have more room, and in order to accommodate the in- 
creased number of pupils, July 16th an addition of twenty by thirty 
feet was ordered made to the school house. Be it said to the credit 
of the Council, in all of its travails, sight was never lost of the edu- 
cational interest of the city, but loans and donations were frequently 
extended to the blacks as well as the whites. 

This was the year of the great temperance revival, sailing under 
the color of the "Red Ribbon." The movement had been inaugu- 
rated in the latter part of 1877, by an Evansville club headed by 
General James M. Shackelford, and had swept everything before it 
like a whirlwind. It was calculated to do good, and did do good, but 
the apathy of leading officers, partaken of by those 'who had been 
most active, submitted the organization to the inevitable of all such 
movements. Henderson alone did not partake of this wonderful con- 
tagion, but it swept the entire county. At Cairo, Robards, Hebbards- 
ville, Corydon, Smith's Mills, Zion, and other places, clubs were 
formed and great numbers of people signed the pledge. All of these, 
be it sorrowfully said, have '"'' turned their toes to the daisies.^^ 

1879. 
This year begins with the Council of the city still laboring to ef- 
fect a settlement of the bonded indebtedness. In order that this 
settlement may be thoroughly understood, it is deemed best to take 
up the beginning and follow it to the end. In the latter part of 1878 
Mayor Atkinson had urged the Council to appoint a committee for 
the purpose of giving the matter a calm and wise consideration, and 
to recommend some plan for the funding of the bonded debt. The 
Council at this time was composed of VV. H. Lewis, George H. Steele, 
F. E. Kreipke, Henry Unverzaght, J. O. Clore, William H. Sandefur, 
Fred Kleiderer and Martin Schlamp. A committee was appointed 
consisting of S. K. Sneed, L. C. Dallam, John E. McCallister, L. H. 
Lyne, John C. Atkinson, composing the Board of Sinking Fund Com- 
missioners, and M. Yeaman, Attorney for the city. On the sixteenth 
day of January this committee, composed of gentlemen of the finest 
financial ability, and all men of more than average wealth, gave the 
matter referred to them the closest scrutiny, weighing well the inter- 
est of the city, as well as consulting the rights of the bondholders, 
and, after calm and due deliberation, unanimously recommended that 
the city give in exchange for their outstanding bonds a new " bond 
bearing six per cent, interest (interest payable semi-annually), payable 
in thirty years after date (with the option of the city to redeem after 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 357 

five years) at the rate of eighty cents to one dollar for the seven per 
cent bonds, ninety cents to one dollar for the eight per cent, bonds, 
and one hundred cents to the on^dollar for the ten per cent bonds. 
This will be, as we believe, substantial and relative justice to all par- 
ties, would be a saving to the city of $15,000 a year interest and 
$50,000 of the principal debt, and give to the bondholder a safer in- 
vestment of his money in a bond the city can more certainly provide 
for." This report was received and filed for future consideration. 
On the 18th day of February the question was again called up, and 
thereupon a report, signed by seven members of the Council, and a 
minority report signed by one member, were received and ordered 
filed. 

The majority committee, composed of Fred. Kleiderer, F, E. 
Kreipke, J. O. Clore, George H. Steele, W. H. Unverzagt, Martin 
Schlamp and W. H. Sandefur, reported that m their opinion the city 
should issue new bonds bearing five per cent, interest, payable semi- 
annually, the bonds payable in thirty years, but may be redeemed at 
the pleasure of the city at any time after five years ; said new bonds 
to be given in exchange for the now outstanding bonds of the city, on 
the following basis : Seventy cents on the dollar for seven per cent, 
railroad bonds, eighty cents on the dollar for eight per cent, railroad 
bonds, one hundred cents on the dollar for school, water works and 
city bonds. 

The minority report was signed by Councilman W. H. Lewis and 
is in substance as follows : He reasoned that as property had shrunk 
in value below fifty per cent,, that there was no reason Nyhy the bonds 
should not shrink in a like ratio; therefore, that he favored paxing 
the seven per cent, bonds at fifty cents on the dollar, the eight per 
cent, bonds at sixty cents on the dollar, and the ten per cent, bonds at 
seventy-five cents on the dollar, and that the settlement be made by 
substituting a new bond bearing five, per cent, interest. 

The proposition to fund the bonded indebtedness of the city had 
now become the town talk, nothing else was thought of. Politicians 
and office seekers had seizf:d upon it and hoped to ride into office 
upon their own peculiar hobby, no matter how damaging their views 
may have been to the public welfare. Scores of men who barely 
knew the marked difference between a city bond and a map of North 
America, talked of nothing else but bonds, and just what sort of a 
settlement should be adopted, and thus it was the weak kneed, look- 
ing ahead for accumulating popularity, pandered to the ruinous policy) 
while the substantial element, holding the general good of the city 



358 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

paramount to popular favor or personal aggrandizement, held out for 
an equitable and just basis. 

The bondholders recognized that the city needed relief, and were 
more than willing to contribute to it. 'I'hey were, perhaps, the origina- 
tors of the movement, for a large majority of them were deeply inter- 
ested outside of the amount of bonds they held. 

March 4th, Mayor Atkinson urged the Council that if they pro- 
posed to adhere to the majority report that they appoint a committee 
to prepare and submit a printed proposal to the bondholders. Upon 
this suggestion a committee was appointed consisting of the Mayor 
and Attorney Yeamen. In addition to this, as a sort of persuader, 
they were to incorporate with the proposal a statement of the city's 
debt and her resources, as they might deem advisable. On the twelfth 
day of March the committee reported a paper addressed to the bond- 
holders wherein they set forth the wishes of the Council, as reported 
by the majority committee, in regard to funding the bonds, making a 
clear exhibit of the bonded indebtedness of the city, the valuation of 
property in the city for taxation for city, railroad, school and water 
works purposes, showing the property belonging to the city and from 
what source she derives her revenues, the current expenses of the 
city, and, in fact, a clear, full and fair exhibit of all matters pertaining 
to the subject then in hand. Upon the report of Mayor Atkinson 
and Hon. M. Yeaman, Council advisor, being read, a resolution was 
passed by the Council approving of the report, and requesting the 
bondholders to signify their acceptance or rejection of the proposi- 
tion of the Council contained in said statement on or before the first 
day of May, 1879. This statement was inclosed to the bondholders, 
and on April 1st Mayor Atkinson and Mr. Yeaman reported that a 
majoritv of the holders of the bonds had been heard from, and that 
most of them refused to accept the proposition of the Council, and 
urged that the report of the Sinking Fund Commissioners, or some- 
thing else which would likely be accepted by the bondholders be pro- 
posed to them. Thereupon the Council, like unto eight lost men, 
afraid of their own shadows, resolved and directed Mayor Atkinson, 
(notwithstanding the bondholders had signified a willingness to accept 
the proposition as embodied in the report of the Sinking Fund Com- 
missioners) to correspond with those bondholders from whom he had 
heard, as well as those from whom he had not, what '' plan or propo- 
sition " they were willing to accept, assuring them that the Council 
was desirous of coming to some honorable settlement. The Mayor 
was then requested to report at the next regular meeting. April 28th 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 359 

Mayor Atkinson reported that he had conversed with a number of the 
largest bondholders, but failed to get any proposition from them. He 
again urged the adoption of the proposition of the Sinking Fund Com- 
missioners, whereupon a motion was made to receive and record the 
report of the Mayor, but it was lost by a vote of four to four, Messrs. 
Steele, Kreipke, Sandefur and Kleiderer voting in the affirmative, 
Messrs. Unverzaght, Clore, Schlamp and Lewis in the negative. 

Again, on the 6th day of May, Mayor Atkinson urged the adop- 
tion of the Sinking Fund proposition, but no action was taken. 

In order to settle this perplexing question the Council held fre- 
quent caucus meetings. New ideas suggested themselves and were 
discussed. Every evidence of ability was exercised to effect an in- 
telligent solution of the momentous matters in hand. Just the thing 
to do, the proper step to take was the question. The supervisors of 
the tax books had reported, and the time had arrived for levying the 
several taxes. The report had been referred to the Finance Commit- 
tee and they were ready with their report. The Mayor called a meet- 
ing for June 6th for the purpose of considering the report of the Fi- 
nance Committee upon the report of the Supervisors and Assessor. 
Mayor Atkinson and the Council differed as to what course should be 
pursued in levying the annual taxes for 1879. The very strange 
course the Council seemed determined upon was met by the Mayor's 
strong opposition, but was passed over him by a unanimous vote. The 
Finance Committee had reported that a tax of $3.45 would have to 
be levied upon each $100 valuation, in order to defray expenses, pay 
interest, and so on, and furthermore that State taxation would in- 
crease said amount to $4. Accompanying this report was also a reso- 
lution, that the Council levy only a tax of 30 cents on each $100 val- 
uation for school purposes and 70 cents to defray the necessary ex- 
penses of the city for the year ending July 1st, 1880. Also that it 
would be inexpedient to levy any tax to pay existing interest on the 
bonded indebtedness. This resolution, it would seem, was intended 
as a genuine bulldozer^ no doubt to frighten the holders of the city's 
bonds into a compromise, but such was not the case, as will be seen 
further on. The truth was, the Council had " dilly dallied " long 
enough. A liberal compromise had been offered them, but rejected, 
and the people were beginning to become restive and out of all pa- 
tience. 

The city was losing ground every day and something had to 
be done, therefore, as a feeler more than anything else, this reso- 
lution was passed. It was worded to capture the masses, and al- 



360 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

together was a serio comic dodge calculated to " wake the natives " 
to a sense of the terrible condition they had gotten themselves into 
without persuasion, and the bond holders to a sense of the perilous 
monitary situation gradually surrounding them. This movement of 
the checkmate, all of a sudden, failed to have the desired effect. 
The bondholders paid no attention to it, but moved along as serenely 
and complacently as though nothing had ever occurred to mar their 
peaceful equilibrium. Thus matters went on until it was discovered 
that something must indeed be done. A large number of mechanics 
had left the city and others were prepari,ng to follow after. No build- 
ings were going up, houses were being emptied, and altogether the 
signs of the times were becoming truly alarming. The bondholders 
could stand it, but those who had to live by the sweat of their 
brow could not. 

September 2d Mayor Atkininson's term of office expired, and re- 
lying upon a consciousness of having done his whole duty as an exe- 
cutive, he gracefully surrendered the reins of government to Hon. 
Francis M. English, his duly elected successor. 

Upon the inauguration of the new Mayor, who be it said, had 
been elected upon the compromise excitement as the very man of all 
men to effect a satisfactory settlement, this vexed question was 
again called up in the shape of a resolution requesting the bondhold- 
ers to meet the Common Council in conference on Tuesday evening, 
September 9th. No meeting it appears was held for a month, and 
yet the city was not only dead, but the corpse gradually growing 
colder and colder. 

October 9th the Council met in called session, and upon assem- 
bling, Mayor English stated the object of the meeting to be to con- 
sider what proposition should be made to the bondholders. 

At this meeting it is evident that the Council was in a better 
frame of mind and more determined to a settlement. As a sort of 
" feeler," Councilman Kleiderer proposed as a basis of settlement 
the minority report of Councilman Lewis, made February 18th, 1879. 
A vote was taken and resulted in its defeat, no one voting for it, save 
Mr. Lewis himself. Thereupon the majority report made to the 
Council upon the same date, was proposed and unanimously adopted. 
Mr. Lewis voimg for it for the purpose of having the matter settled, 
Mayor Englibh was then directed to communicate with the bondhold- 
ers by printed circular. 

Octobei 4th, 1879, Mayor English addressed to Colonel L. H. 
Lyne, John H. Barret and others, a notice of the action of the Coun- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 361 

cil, inclosing them one of the printed propositions, and requesting an 
answer by the twenty-first ; also requesting all creditors and taxpayers 
of the city lu ue present. The^reditors and taxpayers failed to put 
in an appearance, from th j fact, perhaps, it was regarded a difficult 
and uncomfortable matter to impress one thousand or more people 
into a room only capable of accommodating forty or more. One hun- 
dred and fifty-six taxpayers did put in an appearance by petition, how- 
ever, and a petition that had its weight. 

At the meeting, October 21st, Mayor English reported a letter 
from John G. Morton, representing the Hopkins county bondholders, 
declining to accept the proposition of the Council as communicated 
in the printed circular ; also a petition signed by one hundred and 
fifty-six citizens requesting the Council to offer to the bondholders 
new bonds bearing five per cent, interest, in lieu of the seven and 
eight per cent, outstanding bonds, and new bonds bearing six per cent, 
interest in lieu of the ten per cent, outstanding bonds. This peti- 
tion, as before stated, had its weight, as the following resolution passed 
by the Council October 24th, three days after, will show : 

^'Resolved, That this Council tender to the holders of the outstanding 
bonds of the City ot Henderson, Kj , new bonds, bearing five per cent, in- 
terest for the seven and eight per cent, bonds, and new bonds bearing six per 
cent, interest for the ten per cent bonds, said bonds to be issued under author- 
ity and in accordance with an act of the Legislature of the State of Kentucky, 
approved January 30th, 1878, and all past due interest on the outstanding 
bonds to be paid at same rate that the new bonds will bear to the old." 

This resolution was supported and voted for by Councilmen 
Kreipke, Unverzaght, Clore, Sandefur, Kleiderer and Schlarap. Op- 
posed by Steele and Lewis. Upon its passage the following resolu- 
tion of the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners was read to the 
Council and by that body adopted. 

'^Besolved, That we agree that the funds now on hand and to come into 
the Treasury of this Board shall be applied to the payment of the interest on 
the new bonds proposed to be issued. 

Ayes — McCallister, Lyne, Dallam, Sneed and Mayor English. 

November 18th, Messrs. Leonard H. Lyne and S. K. Sneed, gen- 
tlemen who had from the beginning taken a most active and leading 
interest in the settlement of the bonded troubles upon an equkable 
and just basis, reported to the Council that holders of the bonds of 
the city amounting to $435,000 had signed an agreement accepting 
the proposition of the Council made to them. This report was re- 
ceived and Messrs. Lyne and Sneed requested to procure, if possi- 
ble, the signatures of the remaining bondholders. In addition to 



362 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

this, a committee was appointed to prepare the form of a funding 
bond, to be reported at their earliest convenience. 

It will be remembered that at a meeting of the Council held 
June 6th, a tax was levied only to pay the current expenses of the city 
government, and for the further purpose of carrying on the public 
schools. No levy subsequent to that time had been passed to meet 
the interest of the city falling due upon her outstanding bonded in- 
debtedness. But now matters had changed, a better feeling existed, 
the people, or at least one hundred and fifty-six of them, representing 
the general business and professional interest of the city, had become 
interested, and an agreement had about been concluded. The Council 
now determined and did pass an ordinance in relation to the levy and 
collection of certain taxes for 1879. This levy was exclusively for 
the purpose of paying interest, and was as follows: To pay the in- 
terest on railroad bonds, seventy-five cents on the one hundred dol- 
lars; to pay the interest on outstanding school bonds, ten cents on 
the one hundred dollars ; to pay the interest on water works bonds, 
thirty-five cents on the one hundred dollars. These amounts, coupled 
with the levy of seventy-five and thirty cents June 6th, made a grand 
total of two dollars and twenty-five cents on each one hundred dol- 
lars valuation, and was made upon the basis of the agreed bonded 
settlement. 

The assessed valuation for 1878 was, for city purposes, $2,131,- 
155; for water, $2,165,115; for school, $2,124,005; for railroad, $2,- 
411,780; the total levy for all purposes, $2.90. 

The assessed valuation for 1879 was, for city, $1,922,907; for 
water, $1,961,992; for school, $1,918,872; for railroad, $2,096,227, 
and the total levy, $2.25. 

Every citizen, with perhaps a few exceptions, was rejoiced at the 
long hoped for settlement, and business, which had been so distressed 
for many months, began immediately to assume a life both bright and 
cheering. 

November 20th, the Council, by resolution, directed the Board 
of Sinking Fund Commissioners to pay the past due interest upon 
the basis agreed upon. 

In compliance with a resolution passed by the Council July 20th, 
1880, inviting the Sinking Fund Commissioners and bondholders to 
meet the Council in reference to the bond settlement, the following 
named gentlemen met July 23d : Mayor English , Councilmen Kreipke, 
Clore, Unverzaght, Sandefur, Kleiderer, Schlamp and Lewis, and 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



363 



i 



Messrs. L. H. Lyne, S. K. Sneed, L. C. Dallam, on the part of the 
Sinking Fund Board and bondholdeis, and E. B. Newcomb on the 
part of several bondholders. 

At this meeting it was agreed between the Council, Board of 
Sinking Fund Commissioners and bondholders represented, that the 
outstanding bonds should be replaced by a new bond bearing five 
and six per cent, interest, the only dissenting vote being that of Mr. 
Lewis. The following resolution was then passed, Colonel L. H. 
Lyne and E. B. Newcomb dissenting. 

''Resolved, That it is the sense of this Conference that no interest should 
be paid on the present outstanding bonds unless the holders of said bond^ 
agree to accept the new bonds and conform to the provisions of the resolution 
heretofore adopted " 

During the time this settlement was pending the City Assessor 
had made his assessment of property liable to taxation for the year 
1880, and returned his book to the Council. The Board of Super- 
visors, to-wit, ex-Mayor Jacob Held, John O'Byrne and Aaron F, 
Kennedy, appointed to compare and correct the books, met, and, 
after completing their labors, returned them, together with their re- 
port. The action of the Supervisors was so peculiar, and so differ- 
ent from that of any previous board, the Council, or a majority of 
that body, at least, were amazed, and by resolution not only refused 
to accept the action of the Supervisors, but thereupon directed the 
Assessor's book and the accompanying report referred back to them. 
The Supervisors seemed to be imbued with the idea ot scaling prop- 
erty as well as bonds, arguing that if bonds had depreciated in value 
so iiad real estate, and no matter how low a valuation had been placed 
upon real estate by the Assessor, it was yet entitled to a sweeping re- 
duction of twenty per cent. The Supervisors again met, and having 
matured a report, reduced it to writing, and, on the 23d day of July, 
1880, returned the same to the Council. The following is a copy : 

Henderson, Ky., July 22d, 1880. 

"To His Honor, the Mayor, and ihe Common Council: 

"Gentlemen— As supervisors of tax assessments the report furnished 
by us to your honorablr bod3 on June 30th, 1880, has been by your order re- 
committed to our further supervision, we beg leave to state that the duty as- 
signed us, has this day. July 22d. 1880, been completed, which herewith is 
furnished for vour consideration. In the judgment of the Board there has not 
been furnished them facts sufficient to make any alterations in their first re- 
port. 

'• With reference to the assessment of the city bonds, the Board are of 

the opinion that fifty cents ot their face value is all that they should be taxed, 
for the following reasons: 



364 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

" First. The bondholders personally appeared (at least several of them) 
before the Board and said that fifty cents was as much as their cash value. 

•' Second. Your Board was well advised, that not long since, less than 
fiftv cents of their face value was the amount for which some of them were ex- 
changed for cash. 

•• Third. In 186S there was real estate taxed for the interest on said bonds 
to the amount of $3,066,656. Since then real estate has been in the amount 
of $1,000,000 added, allot which is assessed in 1880 at $1,320,702, which shows a 
depreciation in said real estate of $2,744 954, thus a depreciation appears in 
said real estate of fully sixty-seven percent As the bondholders admit, and 
the facts establish, this depreciation, why should your Board fix a fictitious 
value on the bonds, at more than double their cash value. The oath and 
clearest judgment positively forbids it. 

*' In conclusion, since the Council cannot run the city government at sixty _ 
c^nts per one hundred dollars, and the fact that the bondholders insist upon 
property thus depreciated being taxed to pay the interest on the bonds at their 
face value, which are equally depreciated, the Council, if it meet their deiiiand, 
will be compelled greatly to increase the per cent of taxation above the amount 
for the year 1879, for which this Board is not responsible. 

"All of which is respectfully submitted. 

JACOB HELD Sr., 
JOHN G'BYRNE, 
A F. KENNEDY. 

Committee. 

This very remarkable report was a sort of cannon shot, but 
nevertheless unsatisfactory to the Council. It was referred to four 
members of that body, namely, Messrs. Unverzaght, Kreipke, Lewis 
and Kleiderer, who, after having given the Assessor's book a thorough 
overhauling, and a scrutinizing attention to the report of the Super- 
visors, reported : 

Whereas, Complaints have been made to this Council that the report ol 
the Board of Supervisors of tax for the year 1880 in decreasing the value of 
all real estate, as reported by the Assessor, twenty per cent , and increasing 
certain lists as follows, in order, as they report, to equalize the value of real 
estate, and decreasing other lists for the same purpose, is unjust and unfair; 
and 

'• Whereas, The Common Council have the right to hear complaints and 
to change, reduce or correct the tax list of any person ; and 

•' Whereas, The Council is satisfied that said complaints are well taken; 
therefore, be it 

Resolved, First. That the tax list reported by the Board of Supervisors be 
and the same is declared by this Council unfair, 

''Resolved, Second. That the tax books, or lists, as repoited by the Board 
of Supervisors, be changed and corrected so that the same will conform to the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 365 

Assessor's lists or books as originally returned by said Assessor, and the taxes 
to be levied for the year 1880 shall be levied on the basis of the return of the 
lists or books by the Assessor. W. H. UNVERZAGHT 

^ F. KLEIDERER. 

F, E. KREIPKE, 

Committee. 

From this it is quite plain that the Supervisors' report met with 
summary treatment and was consigned to the waste basket of " un- 
fair " public documents. The Council once again turned its atten- 
tion to the agreed settlement, and upon motion to change the deposi- 
tory at which the interest should be paid from the Bank of America, 
New York, as fixed in the original bonds, to that of the Treasury of 
the City of Henderson, opposition was again met, but the motion 
prevailed by the following vote : Ayes— Unverzaght, Kreipke, Klei- 
derer, Clore, Sandefur and Schlamp. Messrs. Lewis and Steele vot- 
ing in the negative. 

Thereupon the ordinance directing the issuing of the funding 
bonds as per the agreement, was placed upon its final passage and 
adopted by the following vote : Ayes — Unverzaght, Kreipke, Klei- 
derer, Clore, Sandefur and Schlamp. Nays— Lews and Steele, This 
ordinance directed to be issued the bonds of the City of Henderson 
to the amount of four hundred and ninety-six thousand eight hundred 
dollars. Three hundred and ninety-eight bonds of one thousand dol- 
lars each. One hundred and eighty-nine bonds of five hundred dollars 
each, and forty-three bonds of one hundred dollars each, to be num- 
bered serially as issued, commencing with number one, and to be des- 
ignated as series A,^B, C and D, to be payable to bearer, and fall due 
in thirty years from the date thereof, but redeemable at any time 
after the expiration of five years at the option of the City Council 
and to bear interest at the rate of 5 and 6 per cent, per annum. It 
was directed that the new bond to be issued in exchange for the out- 
standing railroad bonds, be designated as series "A" and entitle the 
holder to the same liens and priorities as were given the holder of the 
original bond. That the new bond to be issued in exchange for the 
outstanding school bonds, be designated as series " B " and entitle the 
holder to the same liens and priorities as were given the holder of the 
original bond. That the new bond to be issued in exchansfe for the 
outstanding bonds issued for city purposes, be designated as series " C" 
and entitle the holders to the same liens and priorities as were given 
the holder of the original bonds, and mat the new bond to be issued 
in exchange for the water works bonds, be designated as series "D" 



366 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTS, KY. 

and entitle the holder to the same liens and priorities as were given 
the holders of the original bond. It was further directed that the 
bonds designated as series " A " should bear 5 percent, interest, pay 
able semi-annually, on the first day of May and November. Series 
" B " to bear 6 per cent, interest payable semi-annujilly, on the first 
day of May and November. Series " C " (with the exception of 
thirteen thousand five hundred dollars, which originally bore 8 per 
cent, interest) to bear 6 per cent, payable semi-annually, on the first 
day of September and March. The thirteen thousand five hundred 
dollars to bear 5 per cent, interest, payable semi-annually, on the 
same days. Series " D" to bear 6 per cent, interest, payable semi- 
annually, on the first day of March and September. Upon the 
adoption of the new bond and ordinance levying the tax for 1880 was 
read and adopted by the following vote : Ayes — Unverzaght, 
Kreipke, Kleiderer, Clore, Sandefur and Schlamp. Messrs. Lewis 
and Steele voting in the negative. 

The tax levy as fixed by this ordinance was as follows: An ad 
valorem tax of 60 cents on the one thousand dollars valuation as re- 
turned by the Assessor for city purposes, for defraying the current 
expenses of the city. An ad valorem tax of 30 cents for the pur- 
poses of defraying the expenses of the public school, and an addi- 
tional tax of 10 cents for the purpose of paying the interest on the 
the school bonds. An ad valorem tax of 70 cents for the purpose 
of paying the interest on the bonds issued for railroad purposes, and 
an ad valorem tax of 30 cents for the purpose of paying the interest 
on the water works bonds, making a total of two dollars tax levy, 
ninety cents less than 1878 and twenty-five cants less than 1879. 
This levy was made upon the following assessment : for city purposes, 
$1,980,864, for water works, $2,021,989, for railroad the same, for 
school, $1,980,864. 

I have endeavored to give a full and complete history of the 
long to be remembered settlement of the bonded indebtednes of the 
city of Henderson, which had its beginning in May 1877, during the 
administration of Hon. John C. Atkinson, and finally settled in Au- 
gust 1880, during the administration of Hon. F. M. English. 

To sum up this long contest in a few words it amounted to this : 
It was evident to a majority of the bondholders that the interest was 
too much for the city to bear up under, and that by funding their 
bonds at a lower rate of interest, the investment would certainly be- 
come a much safer one. They knew full well, better, in fact, than 
others, that the interest was too great and that it should be reduced. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 367 

They were willing, in fact, more than willing, that such should be 
done, but upon a just and equitable basis. As to what this basis 
should be, the bondholders, and Council elected upon the heavy scal- 
ing idea, failed to agree. That"^ they were willing to give more than 
the Council ultimately demanded, is surely proven by comparing the 
proposition made by the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners, Jan- 
uary 16th, 1869, with the final settlement. To make this plain, the 
outstanding bonded indebtedness of the city at the time the settle- 
ment was made consisted of the following bonds : One hundred and 
ninety-four railroad bonds of $1,000 each, bearing seven per cent, 
interest; twenty-seven city bonds for water works extension, of $500 
each, bearing eight per cent, interest; fifty -six school bonds of $500 
each, bearing ten per cent, interest; twenty-nine city bonds of $1,000 
each, bearing ten per cent interest ; fifty-six city bonds of $500 each, 
bearing ten per cent, interest; forty-three city bonds of $100 each, 
bearing ten per cent, interest; seventy-five water works bonds of 
$1,000 each, bearing ten per cent, interest, and fifty water works bonds 
of $500 each, bearing ten per cent, interest, making a to.tal of six 
hundred and thirty bonds bearmg seven, eight and ten per cent, in- 
terest and representing $496,000. 

January 16th, 18/9, the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners, 
representing a large majority of the bondholders, proposed to the 
City Council to receive in lieu for the $194,000 of seven per cent, 
railroad bonds, new bonds bearing six per cent, interest and repre- 
senting $155,200 or twenty per cent, off of the face of the original 
bond. For the $100,000 eight per cent, railroad bonds, and $13,500 
eight per cent city water works extension bonds, new bonds bearing 
six percent, interest and representing $102,150, or ten percent, off of 
the face of the original bonds. For the $189,300 school, water 
works and city ten per cent, bonds, new bonds for the same face 
value, but bearing six per cent, interest. Under this agreement the 
total value of the new bonds would have been $446,650, bearing six 
per cent, interest, in place of $496,800 bearing seven, eight and ten 
per cent. 

This proposition was rejected, although the Council was repeat- 
edly importuned and urged by Mayor Atkinson and others to adopt it 
as a basis of settlement. Meetings were held week after week, and 
night after night, and yet no conclusion could be arrived at. Fi- 
nally, on the 24th day of Oct/ober, over nine months after the propo- 
sition made by the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners had been 
rejected, the proposition to fund the bonded indebtedness at its ori. 



368 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ginal face value, the seven and eight per cent, bonds to bear five per 
cent, and the ten per cent, bonds to bear six per cent., was submitted 
by the Council to the bondholders, and by a very large majority of 
them accepted. 

The difference between the propositions of January 16t4i and Oc- 
tober 24th, 1879, which it took the Council nine months of laborious 
work and study to harmonize, settles down to this : The bondhold- 
ers proposed to receive, January 16th, $50,150 less of principal and 
$66 more of interest than was voluntarily given them October 24th, 
nine months afterwards, as the following statement will show : 

PROPOSITION SINKING FUND, JANUARY 18tH. 

$194,000 7 per cents, 20 off $i55.2oo at 6 per cent. 

113,5008 " 10 off 102,150 at 6 ♦' 

189,300 10 " GO off 189,300 at 6 ' 

$496,800 $50,150 $446,650 at 6 per cent. — '26729 

COUNCIL COMPROMISE, OCTOBER 24tH. 

$194,000 7 per cents $194,000 at 5 per cent $ 9.700 

113,500 S " ....... 113,500 at 5 '• 5675 

1S9.300 TO " 189.300 at 6 " ii«35S 

$496,800 $496,800 $26,733— $26,733 

Interest in favor of Council ... $66 00 

Principal of debt against Council $50,150 

Thus the city had, after a settlement, a bonded indebtedness of 
$496,800, bearing five and six per cent, interest, when she could have 
had nine months before a bonded indebtedness of $446,500, bearing 
six per cent, interest. 

What was the loss in valuation and business during this long 
unnecessary, and almost ruinous, settlement, it is not the pur- 
pose of this work to investigate. That it was immense, maybe safely 
inferred. Since the settlement property has advanced faster than the 
assessor, and the whole city resounds with the ring of trowel and 
hatchet. 

On the twenty-first day of January, the weather being intensely 
cold, with every p/ospect of a long cold spell, the Henderson Coal 
and Mining Company, with commendable liberality, donated twelve 
hundred bushels of coal to be delivered gratuitously to the suffering 
and destitute of the city. This liberal contribution of one of the 
greatest comforts of life was distributed by the Mayor and a commit- 
tee of the Council, and it is not surprising to know that many persons. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 369 

far from belonging to the unfortunate class for whom this charity was 
intended, were importunate applicants, and had to be watched 
closely. _j. 

May 15th the annual conclave of the Knights Templar of Ken- 
tucky held its meeting in Henderson and was largely attended. The 
city was beautifully bedecked with flags, and altogether the grand oc- 
casion was one long to be remembered. A sumptuous and magnifi- 
cent banquet was given the Grand Commandery at Marshal's ware- 
house on Third, between Main and Water Streets. 

July 21st a rigid quarantine was established, and an ordinance 
passed to prevent, if possible, the introduction of yellow fever. 

This ordinance made it a penalty for any railway company or 
other persons operating or controlling any railway or trains leading 
into Henderson to transport over such road any cars, freight, passen- 
gers or baggage coming from south of Guthrie to within less than 
five miles of the city before obtaining permission of the city. No 
steamboat coming from a point on the Ohio River south of Paducah 
was permitted to land passengers, freight or baggage within less than 
five miles of the city without permission. This was the year of the 
frightful fever epidemic at Memphis and still further up the Missis- 
sippi River at Hickman, Kentucky. It will be remembered that Dr. 
John L. Cook, of this city, a brilliant young physician, husband 
and father, volunteered his services, went to Hickman and soon be- 
came himself a victim of the terrible scourge. Dr. Pickney Thomp- 
son, of this city, as President of the State Board of Health, also visited 
the plague-stricken city. Surely Henderson contributed liberally to 
the comfort^and health of the Hickman people. 

The Grand Lodge of Kentucky, Knights of Pythias, held its 
annual meeting in this city in September. At the same time the 
Henderson Fair Association was holding its meeting; the city was 
alive with flags and music, and a general good cheer pervaded the 
town. There were a large number of Knights from different portions 
of the State, and their handsome bearing was noticeable. A compe- 
tition drill was given in the ring of the Fair Association, and Ivy 
Lodge lost, Evansville winning the prize. An unsurpassable banquet 
was given the Grand Lodge at Marshal's warehouse. Altogether, 
1879 was a gala year for Henderson and will be remembered with in- 
finite pleasure for years to come. W. VV. Blackwell, of this city, was 
elected Grand Chancellor at this meeting. He is the youngest mem- 
ber ever elected to that exalted position, being only thirty years of 
age at the time of his election. 

24 



370 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

February 27th, an act of the General Assembly of Kentucky 
was passed, incorporating the " Henderson Female Seminary," Miss 
Mary McCullogh, principal, Hons. John Young Brown and H. F. 
Turner, James R. Barret, Ben C. Redford, Dr. W. M. Hanna, Thomas 
Soaper, James Alves, David Clark and A. S. Winstead, incorporators 
and trustees. This magnificent institution of learning deservedly 
ranks among the first in the State. 

The city purchased during this year her two fine horses " Jumbo " 
and " Dido " and shut up the market house by converting its rear 
end into a stable. 

1881. 

An ordinance was passed on the fifth day of May granting the 
Henderson Bridge Company the right to bridge the Ohio River, to- 
gether with all other privileges thereto appertaining. 

February 23d an ordinance was passed reducing the price of 
gas from $S to $2.25. This ordinance was bitterly fought and only 
passed by the vote of Mayor English. Upon its passage a motion 
was made to shut off the street lamps. Mayor English opposed it. The 
vote stood : For shutting off — Unverzaght, Clore, Kleiderer and San- 
defur. Opposed — Schlamp, Steele, Kreipke and Lewis. 

TOWN AND CITY OFFICIALS. 

TRUSTEES. 

Nathaniel F. Ruggles, 1819 to 1835 ; Levi Jones, 1819 to 1825 ; 
John H. Sublett, 1819 to 1826; Samuel Stites, 1819 to 1826, 1834 
1843 ; James H. Lyne, 1820 to 1831 ; George Morris, 1824, '25^ 
'26; William D.Allison, 1826 to 1833 ; John W. Moseley, 1826; 
George Atkinson, 1827 to 1835; Wyatt H. Ingram, 1827, '28; John 
Spiedel, 1827 ; George Gayle, 1828, '29; James Rouse, 1828 to 1838 ; 
1837 to 1847 ; Thomas Johnson, 1830, '31, 1843, '44, '45 ; Joseph 
Cowan, 1832, '33, '34, '35 ; Edmund H. Hopkins, 1832, 1838 to 1848 ; 
John D. Anderson, 1833 to 1845 ; Archibald Dixon, 1835 to 1844 ; 
James W. Marshall, 1835, '36, '37; William Vermilyer, 1835; Hugh 
Kerr, 1835 ; James E. Rankin, 1835, 1846, "47 ; James Alves, 1835 ; 
Alexander B. Barret, 1837, 1842 ; William P. Smith, 1838, '39 ; F. 
Cunningham, 1838 to '45; L. G. Taylor, 1839, '40, to '41 ; James 
Carroll, 1840 ; Lazarus W. Powell, 1840, '41, '46, '47 ; Y. E. Allison, 
1841, '46, '47 ; William R. Abbott, 1841, '42 ; William J. Ross, 1841, 
'42 ; Thomas Towles, Jr., 1841, 42 ; D. R. Burbank, 1841, '42 ; Wil- 
liam L. Stone, 1842, '45 ; William Quinn, 1842 ; Littleberry Weaver, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 371 

1842, '48 ; David H. Cowan, 1842 to 1847 ; John H. Lambert, 1842, 
'43, '47 ; James Wilson, 1843 ; Philo H. Hillyer, 1843 '44, '45, '46; 
William H. Cunningham, 1845 ;^Nathaniel D. Terry, 1846, '47 ; Brent 
Hopkins, 1846; Edward D. McBride, 1846, '47; George W. Johnson, 
1847 ; William B. Vandzandt, 1847 ; Samuel W. Langley, 1847 ; Rob- 
ert G. Beverley, 1847 ; David Banks, 1849 ; Philip L. Johnston, 1849; 
Walter A. Brown, 1849 ; Andrew Mackey, 1849 ; C. M. Pennell, 1850 ; 
John McBride, 1851, '52; William T. Barret, 1851; David Clark, 
1851 ; William S. Holloway, 1851 ; Geo. M. Priest, 1851 ; James Ba 
con, 1851 ; James Carroll, 1852 ; Peter Semonin, 1853; James Wilson, 
1852; D. N. Walden, 1853; Thomas J. Johnson, 1853; William 
Brewster, 1853; James Carroll, 1853; W. B. Vandzandt, 1853; 
Francis Millet, 1853. 

COUNCILMEN. 

James W. Clay, 1854; George M. Priest, 1854; Jacob Fulwiler, 
1854, '55, '56, '57 • John H . Lambert, 1854, '55, '59 ; B. Brashear, 
1854, '55, '56, '57; D. H. Unselt, 1854; William S. Holloway, 1854, 
'55, '62, '69, '70; P. H. Hillyer, 1854, '57, '58, '62, '63 ; James Bacon, 

1854, '55 ; R. G. Beverley, 1854, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60, '61, '62 ; 
Robert G. Rouse, 1854, '55 ; P. B. Matthews, 1855, '56, '57, '60, '61, 
'62; John Rudy, 1855, '56; B. R. Cu rry, 18 55, '56; C. W. Hutchen, 

1855, '56; Walter A. Towles, 185f; William P. Grayson, 1856; 
William Steele, 1856; William Brewster, 1856 ; Andrew Mackey, 
1856 ; E. G. Hall, 1857, '58, '59 ; Sam'l P. Spalding, 1857, '58 ; 
John McBride, 1857, '58; Richard Garland, 1858, '61; Sol. S. Size- 
more, 1858, '59 ; F. W. Reutlinger, 1858, '59, '68, '69 ; William E. 
Lambert, 1858, '59 ; L. F. Jones, 1858, '59, '60, '61 ; W, W. Catlin, 
1859; A. H. Talbott, 1860, '61' '66, '67, '68; F. Millet, 1860, '61 ; J. 
Adams, 1861, '62, 'QG, '67, '71, '72; W. H. Ladd, 1860, '61, '62, '64, '65 . 
R. M. Allin, 1861; F. B. Cromwell, 1862; W. H. Sandefur, 1862,' 
1876, '77, 78, '79, '80, '81 ; J. C. Allin, 1862, '68 ; Jacob Reutlinger, 
1862, '63 ; Peter Semonin, 1862 ; Jacob Held, 1862, '63, '64, '65, 
'66; Henry R. Tunstall, 1862, '63, '64, 65, '66, '67, '68; Ben M. 
Sandefur, 1863 ; Jacob F. Mayor, 1863; A. S. Nunn, 1864, '65, 'm, 
'67, '68, '69, '70, '71 ; David Hart, 1864, '65 ; T. M. Jenkins, 1864, 
'65, '66, '67 ; D. N Wilden, 1865 ; Grant Green, 1865, '66 ; E. L. 
Starling, 1866, '67, '68, '75, '76 ; David Banks, 1867, '68, '71 ; Thos. 
S. Knight, 1867, '68 ; Jacob Reutlinger, 1867 ; K. Geibel, Jr., 1867, 
'68, '69, '70, '71, '72; P. H. King, 1868, '69, "70, '71, '72, '73, '74; M. 
Yeaman, 1868, '69; A. B. Weaver, 1868, '69 ; J. E. Fagan, 1868, '69, 
'70, '71 ; L. Martin, 1868, '69; Thomas L. Norris, 1869, '70; John 



372 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

C. Atkinson, 1869, 70, 71 ; John C. Stapp, 1869, 70, 71, 72, 73 
N. H. Barnard, 1870, 71, 72. 73; Robert Dixon, 1871, 72; W. S 
Johnson, 1871 72, 73 ; J. Ed. Rankin, 1872, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78 
E. W. Worsham, 1872, 73; L. C. Dallam, 1872, 73; James R. Bar 
ret, 1873; Jacob Peter, 1873, 74; F. H. Overton, 1874,75,76,77 
W. B. Woodruff, 1874, 75, 76; H. C. Elliot, 1874, 75; John 
O'Byrne, 1874, 75 ; F. Kleiderer, 1874, 75, 76, 78, 79, '80 ; Henry 
C. Kerr, 1874, 75; Martin Schlamp, 1875, 76, 77, 78, 79, '80, 81 ; 
James H. McCulJagh, 1875, 76; John McBride, 1875, '76; Jacob 
Held, 1876 ; J. O. Clore, 1876, '77, '78, '79, '80, '81 ; R. C. Soaper, 
1876, '77, '78 ; G. A. Prentice, 1876, '77 ; S. A. Lambert, 1876, '77, 
78 ; John H. Barret, 1876, '77 ; S S. Sizemore, 1876, '77 ; W. H. 
Unverzaght, 1878, '79, '80, '81, '83 ; George H. Steele, 1878, '79, '80, 
'81, '82, '83 ; F. E. Kreipke, 1878, 79, '80, '81, '82, '83 ; William H. 
Lewis, 1878, '79, 80, '81, '82, '83 ; John P. Beverley, 1880, '81 ; 
Perry Robinson, 1880, '81 ; John Thomasson, 1881, '82, '83 ; R. E. 
Cook, 1881 ; Henry Katterjohn, 1881, '82, '83 ; P. P. Johnson, 1882, 
'83, '84, '85, '86, '87 ; A. S. Winstead, 1882, '83, 84, '85, '86 ; James 
E. Rankin, 1882, '83; Richard Stites, 1883; Phelps Sasseen, 1883, 
'84, '85, '86, '87 ; James Williamson, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87 ; Edward 
Manion, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87 ; M. M. Kimmel, 1886, '87 ; Alex. 
Fenwick, 1886, '87 ; Frank Sugg, 1886, '87 ; J. G. Adams, 1886, '87. 

CHAIRMAN BOARD TRUSTEES. 

John H. Sublett, 1823 ; Samuel Stites, 1824 ; N. F. Ruggles, 
1826 to 1835 ; John D. Anderson, 1834, '37, '45; James W. Marshall, 
1835, '36 ; Edmund H. Hopkins, 1838 to 1845 ; William R. Abbott, 
1842 ; James Rouse, 1846 ; L. W. Powell, 1847 ; Archibald Dixon, 
1848; David Bants, 1849, '50 ; Thomas J. Johnson, 1851, '52, '53. 

MAYORS. 

W. B. Vandzandt, 1854 ; M. S. Hancock, 1854, '55, '56, '57, '58, 
'59; E. G. Hall, 1860, '61, '62; D. Banks, 1862, '63, '64, '65; P. B. 
Matthews; 1866, '67, '68; E. L. Starling, 1868, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, 
74; Jacob Held, 1874, '75; John C. Atkinson, 1875, '76, '77, '78, 
'79 ; F. M. English ; 1879, '80, '81 ; Jac Peter, 1881, '82, '83 ; C. C. 
Ball, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87. 

TREASURERS. 

N. F. Ruggles, 1819 to 1834; Samuel Stites, 1834; James W. 
Marshall, 1835, '36, '37; William P. Smith, 1838, '39; Henry Delano, 
1840 to 1847; Philo H. Hillyer, 1847, '48, '49, '50, '51, '52, '53 ; 
Henry Lyne, 1854, '55, '56, '67; Andrew Clark, 1857, '58, '59, '60, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 373 

'61, 62 ; James iL. Ricketts, 1862, '63 ; F. W. Reutlinger, 1862, '63, 
'64, '65, '66, '67; Grant Green, 1867, '68; S. K. Sneed, 1868, '69, 
'70, '71, '72, '73 ; B. C. Ailin, 1874, '75 ; C. T. Starling, 1875 to 1887 
inclusive. 

CLERKS. 

William H. Thomas, 1819 to 1824; William D. Allison, 1824 to 
1852; Y. E. Allison, 1852, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59; F. W. Reut- 
linger, 1860, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66; E. M, Clark, 1867; W. H. 
Ross, 1868, '69 ; C. Bailey, 1870 ; Henry Pyne, 1870, '71 ; A. S. 

Nunn, 1872, '73, '74, '75, '76, '77, '78' '79 ; David Hart, 1880, '81, '82, 
'83 ; J. B. Johnson, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87. 

MARSHALS AND COLLECTORS. 

John Green, 1822; James Rouse, 1823, '28, 29; Joel Lambert, 
1824 to 1828; Thomas P. Lambert, 1830, '31, '32; James H. Green, 
1833; William R. Abbott, 1834; W. F. Quinn, 1835; Robert G. 
Rouse, 1836, '37, '38, '39, '40, '45, '50, '52, 53 ; Joseph D. Gobin, 
1841, '42, '44, '45, '49; Y. E. Allison, 1843, '47; Samuel W. 
Langley, 1846 ; John C. Stapp, 1848, '49, '50; Eli J. Melton, 1851 ; 
B. M. Clay, 1851; Charles G. Boardman, 1852; Solomon Nesler, 
1854, '55; N. P. Green, 1856, '57, '58, '59; W. W. Catlin, 1860, 
'61, '62, '63, '64; R. G. Rouse, Jr., 1864, '65, '66, '67; George 
Gayle, 1868, '69, '70, '71; B. M. Winston, 1872; Jake Held, 
1872, '73, '74, '75; S. A. Young, 1875, '76, '77, '78, '79 ; Edward At- 
kinson, 1879, '80, '81 ; Peter Yaney, Collector, 1881, '82, '83, '84, '85, 
'86, '87; James H. , Priest, Marshal, 1881, '82, '83; Joe A. Rudy, 
1883, '84, '85, '86; John Kriel, 1886, '87. 

HARBOR AND WHARF MASTERS. 

N. F. Ruggles, 1824 to 1834; William Hart, 1834 to 1838; John 
Shingler, 1838 ; William P. Smith, 1839 ; Jacob Fulwiler, 1840; John . 
B. Burk, 1841, '42, '44, '58, '59, '61, '62; Joseph Grant, 1841, '42; 
James Perrot, 1843 ; Robert G. Rouse, 1843, '44, '45, '49, '53, '54, 
'55; James F. Clay, 1840; William F. Quinn, 1847; John C. Stapp, 
1848; William E. Lambert, 1850, '51; Charles G. Boardman, 1852; 
W. W. Catlin, 1856, '57; Samuel W. Black, 1860, '61 ; John H. Morris, 
1863; M. P. Rucker, 1863, '64; W. W. Huston, 1865, '66; Paul J. 
Marrs, 1867 to 1882, inclusive; William H. Ladd, 1872, '73; Frank 
Deschamp, 1882 to 1887, inclusive. 

ASSESSORS. 

William H. Thomas, 1822, '23 ; Daniel McBride, 1824 to 1829, 
2, '33; William D. Allison, 1830, '31; James Rouse, 1834, '36, '50 



374 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

William F. Quinn, 1835, '60, '64, '65; William S. Holloway, 1837; 
Thomas Towles, Jr., 1838, '39 ; Joseph D. Gobin, 1840, '41 ; H. E. 
Rouse, 1842, '66, '67; Y. E. Allison, 1843, '44, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50, 
'52, '53, '54; William L. Stone, 1845; Littleberry Weaver, 1851, '52 ; 
T. J. Hopkins, 1855, '56 ; J. O. Cheaney, 1856, '57, '58, '59 ; R. B. 
Cabell, 1861, '62, '68, '69; A. L. Jones, 1863; Thomas F. Cheaney, 
1870, '71, '72, '73, '74, '76, '77, '78, '81, '82 ; E. R. Moore, 1875 ; B. 
Brashear, 1879, '80 ; Charles G. Henson, 1883; A. F. Kenneday, 
1883, '84, '85, '86 ; Stephen P. Smith, 1887. 

SUPERINTENDENT GAS WORKS. 

T. M. Jenkins, 1867 to 1882; William Cannings, 1882 to 1887, 
inclusive. 

CITY COUNCIL ADVISOR. 

Hughes & Dallam, 1853, '54, '55, '56; John T. Bunch, 1857; 
Crockett & Vance, 1858, '59; John W. Crockett, 1860, 61 ; S. B. 
Vance, 1862, '63, '64, '65, '66; Turner & Trafton, 1866, '67, '68, '69, 
'70, '74; Charles Eaves, 1870, '71, '72; M. Yeaman, 1873, 74, '75, 
'76, '77, '78 ; James F. Clay, 1879, '80, '81, '82; A. T. Dudley, 1883; 
S. S. Sizemore, 1884, '85, '86; John L. Dorsey, 1887. 

CITY JUDGE. 

Worden P. Churchill, 1854, '55; P. H. Lockett, 1856; H. C. 
Bard, 1856; W. R. Kinney, 1857; J. Willie Rice, 1858, '59; C. W. 
Hutchen, 1860, '61 ; P. A. Blackwell, 1861, '62; P. H. Hillyer, 
1863, '64, '65, '66; A. T. Dudley, 1866, '67, '72, '73, '74. 75 ; E. M. 
Clark, 1868, '69, '70, '71; R. H. Cunningham, 1876, '77, '78, '79; 
G. C. Averitt, 1880, '81, '82, '83 ; Ezra C. Ward, 1884 to 1887, in 
elusive. 

CHIEF FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

Charles L. Woods, 1874, '75; A. M. Tutt, 1875, '76; T. M. 
Jenkins, 1877, 78, '79; William Cannings, 1880 to 1887, inclusive. 

CITY PHYSICIAN. 

Samuel Fox, 1866, '67 ; P. G. Valentine, 1868, '69, '70, 71 ; J. 
D, Collins, 1872, '73; J. L. Cook, 1873; Ben Letcher, 1874, '76; 
Ben & James Letcher, 1875 ; John B. Cook, 1877 ; A. Dixon, 1878 ; 
Ben Letcher, 1879; Ben & James H. Letcher, 1880; Ben and James 
H. Letcher, 1881 ; Arch. Dixon, 1882, '83; B. R. Helms, 1884, '85, 
'86 ; J. C. Smith, 1887. 

CITY ENGINEER. 

Thomas Allen, 1797; John Green, 1824; D. N. Walden, 1853, 
'54, '57. Henrv J. Eastin, 1855, '56; James D. Saunders, 1858, '59, 
'60; J. J, Kriss, 1861 ; F. H. Crosby, 1866, '67, '68; Crosby & Be- 
bee, 1869; G. M. Alves, 1870, '71, '72, 73, '74, '75. 

STREET INSPECTOR. 

Charles W. Quinn, 1886; John Haffey, 1887. 



PRECINCTS. 



CAIRO PRECINCT. 

^Z! HIS precinct is bounded by the Corydon, Hende'rson and Ro- 
^-^ bards Station Precincts and Webster County. For many years, 
from the earliest times of voting, the voters living in all that territory, 
with Green River to a point far beyond Petersburg, Webster County, 
including all of the precinct of Cairo, voted at Petersburg and John 
Harvey's, living at the junction of the Henderson and Madisonville, 
and the Smiths', afterwards McFadden's ferry roads. Years after- 
wards the voting place was changed from Harvey's to Isom Seller's, 
and here the elections were held until a growing population clamored 
for a change, which was made from Seller's to David Sights'. Here 
the elections were held for a number of years, when the voting place 
was changed to William Sutton's. In 1851, after the new constitu- 
tion having been adopted, and the population having greatly increased, 
two voting places were established, one at Randall Osburn's, the other 
at Corydon. 

In 1851 Cairo Precinct was established and the town of Cairo 
made the voting place. Among the earliest settlers of this part of 
Henderson County were John Leeper, the slayer of Big Harpe, 
Jacob Newman, John Christian, James Worthington, Abraham Saun- 
ders, Rowland Hughes, Joseph Worthington, William Black, Sher- 
wood Hicks, Nevil Lindsay, John McCombs, John Lock, William 
Hughes, David Hughes, Eneas McCallister, John Luttels, John and 
Martin Kates, Joel Sugg, Andrew Black, Andrew Agnew and Mica- 
jah Hancock. These early settlers cleared the country, opened the 
first roads, built the first churches and school houses, and reduced 



376 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the wild woods from a state of semi-barbarism to green fields and 
woodlands, dedicated to the culture of fine crops of cereals, tobacco, 
and the raising of horses, cattle, sheep and swine. Educational facil- 
ities in those early times were provided, and the boy or girl who could 
learn so much as the multiplication table and to spell, was fortunate 
indeed. A large majority of the second and the third generations 
grew up in almost absolute ignorance. It is a well known fact that 
where positive illiteracy controls the populace, there too is to be 
found riotous living, debauchery and vice in all its multiplied phases. 
Ignorance pays no homage to law, save only so much as is com- 
pelled from a natural fear existing in the brute as well as the human. 
Owing to this state of ignorance a greater part of the population in- 
dulged their time in horse racing on the Sabbath particularly, but any 
other day when the boys could be notified to come forward with the 
necessery shekels. 

Rowdyism reigned supreme, drinking, debauchery and fist mills 
occupied the chief attention of this large class, and, altogether, it was 
a most lamentable state of affairs, but between 1807 and 1812 Salem 
Church was built near Sellers, and during the week a school taught 
in the building. This pioneer building was ot course a small log af- 
fair with puncheon seats and no desks or tables, yet it was sufficient 
for all purposes at the time. It was owned and used by what is 
known as the Regular Baptist, a minature congregation at that early 
date, and was presided over by Rev. John Street, a man of ordinary 
religious training, but an earnest worker in the faith. He was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. John Dorris, a preacher of considerable power, but 
sadlv deficient in education. Rev. John Grantham preached for a 
time for this little congregation also. In those days settlements were 
few and very far between, therefore it was no unusual occurrence for 
members, both male and female, to ride fifteen, twenty and even 
twenty-five miles to preaching. It was a general rendezvous on Sun- 
day for the young enthusiasts and lovers, and thus became the means 
of doing greater good than was expected in the beginning. Great 
revivals were held and numbers of those whose lives had been de- 
voted to the sins of the world united with the Church and became 
active in securing others to do likewise. During the time a school 
was taught by Rev. John Street, afterwards by William Frazier. The 
children for miles around attended as best they could, most of them 
being necessarily compelled from the scarcity of horses and limited 
means of their parents, to walk day after day through by-paths for 
miles in search of knowledge denied their parents. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 377 

The country at this time was alive with wolves, yet they con- 
fined themselves mostly to those woods unfrequented by the traveler. 
The trials and dangers incident to that time, may be appreciated by 
the young of this day when ^ey remember that little children, 
wholly unable to offer resistence, flocked along wood paths with 
nothing but the rustling of leaves and the chirps of birds to cheer 
their lonely way. Seeking an education was accompanied by fears 
and trials at every turn of the paths, j^et they braved all dangers and 
searched that precious prize, a primary training, which eventuated in 
bringing the country from a wild horse racing, gambling, drinking set 
of ignorant hoodlums to a community of God-fearing, honest, laborous 
people. Salem Church, Salem school and the influence of Christian men 
and women gradually moralized the country until its rapid growth 
brought other blessings. Neighborhood roads were opened, more 
schools were taught, land was gradually cleared up, houses were built, 
law respected and thus the people became more thrifty and more in- 
telligent. 

Eighteen hundred and eighty-three dawned upon this precinct 
populated by a people noted for honesty of purpose, moral training, 
hospitality, social culture, laborious living, and, in fact, all the charac- 
teristics of worth to be possessed by any similar body of people in 
the country at large. Most of the lands lying in this precinct are 
rolling lands, some low lands. While there are some poor lands in 
the precinct, yet it is a fact that the larger part of it is rich and very 
productive. The principal products are corn, wheat and tobacco. 
A great part of this precinct is yet heavily timbered, all of the forest 
growth congenial to this climate is to be found in great abundance, 
including the oak, hickory, ask, elm, gum, poplar and walnut. 

The tenth United States census gives this precinct a population 
of sixteen hundred souls, but the estimated population at this time, 
from what may be considered accurate, gives it twenty-five hundred. 
The Baptist still have a church where old Salem stood and the Meth- 
odist have a church at Union Hill. 

CAIRO. 

The town of Cairo is located in the southwest part of Hender- 
son County, eleven miles from the City of Henderson, and seven 
miles west from Robards Station on the Henderson & Nashville 
branch of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. The first person 
known to have settled in business upon the ground where the town is 
located, was William H. Hancock, who established a blacksmith shop 
for the convenience of the surrounding country. Albert G. Walker 



378 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

settled a few years afterwards, and when, in 1848, a mail and stage 
line was established between Henderson and Hopkinsville, Mr. 
Walker was appointed first postmaster. The town or station at that 
time had no name, and in order that the office might have a desig- 
nated appellation by which it should be known at Washington, as 
well as throughout the delivery offices of the country, Mr. Walker 
sent in a name which the government declined to ratify, from the fact 
the same was on another post route in the State of Kentucky. Mr. 
Walker then sent on the name of Cairo, which was ratified by the 
Postoffice Department. 

The tenth census gives Cairo a population of one hundred and 
seven, but at this time the town has an estimated population of three 
hundred. 

In 1873 the town was incorporated, and under the act Isom Cot- 
tingham, John McMullin, Albert A. Niles, Dr. W. B. Floyd, U. N. 
Swope and A. Kohl appointed trustees. The boundaries of the town 
were described, the election of trustees regulated, that is to say, 
the act directs the election of six trustees in the month of May an- 
nually, who are to serve one term of twelve months or until their 
successors qualify. These Trustees must select one of their own 
number who shall be permanent chairman of the Board. Power is 
given the Trustees to enact ordinances and all needful laws and reg- 
ulations for the government of the town and to annex fines for their 
violations not exceeding magisterial jurisdiction, power to levy and 
collect taxes, etc. 

The act of incorporation was amended February 4th, 1874, ex- 
tending the power of the Trustees. Under this amendment all 
males over the age of sixteen and under fifty years of age, who pay 
into the town treasury the sum of two dollars, are exempt from pay- 
ing poll-tax for road purposes. 

The town of Cairo has one church building, the property of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian denomination. The building is used also 
by the Methodist congregation. There is also within the town limits 
one district white and one district colored school. 

TOBACCO STEMMERIES. 

Wm. T. Cottingham handles annnually from 100 to 150 hogs- 
heads strips and leaf. 

Wm. E. Royster handles annually from 125 to 150 hogsheads 
strips and leaf. 

Nick & Thomas Royster handles annually from 100 to 150 hogs- 
heads strips and leaf. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 379 

Joseph A. Quinn handles annually from 100 to 150 hogsheads 
strips and leaf. 

J. A. Fisher & Son handles annually from 40 to 75 hogsheads 
strips and leaf. . -*" 

David W. Denton (Rock Spring) handles annually from 50 to 75 
hogsheads strips and leaf. 

The stemmeries employ during the stemming season from fifteen 
to twenty hands each. 

George W. Kimball owns and operates a flour and grist mill, 
capacity of two hundred bushels of fiour and meal per day. 

Among the oldest inhabitants now living are Martm Galloway, 
John W. Royster, Samuel Alderson, P. G. Sights, Dr. W. B. Floyd. 

N. B. — Since the foregoing was written Cairo has had a big fire 
and safe robbery. Business has materially increased and many 
changes have taken place. It was near Cairo that Dr. W. T. Sutton 
killed young Alderson, for which offense he was cleared by a jury of 
the court. 

CORYDON PRECINCT. 

This precinct was established on the 20th day December, 1851, 
and a voting place appointed at a house built upon the ground now 
within the limits of the beautiful little town of Corydon. The pre- 
cinct at that time was a wilderness of wild woods, inhabited by droves 
of wolves and other wild animals known to Kentucky for many years 
anterior to that date. 

It is true there were a number of settlers, yet their places of 
habitation were so remote, neighbors seldom visited and seldom saw 
each other. The mode of traveling was extremely irksome and sub- 
jected to pioneer dangers. Corydon at that time was known only as 
a " woods settlement " of perhaps two or three log cabins. 

The aged and respected Dr. John N. Dorsey settled in 1848 
where the town of Corydon is now situated, and built the first cabin, 
a little log hut of a concern, in the forest upon the hill now orna- 
mented by the handsome residence of Charles L. King. 

In 1850 or '51, William L. Dorsey, a brother of Dr. Dorsey, laid 
off a few lots, using a grapevine for measuring distances. Some of 
them he sold for five dollars per lot, others for a less amount. Land 
at that time was valued from four to five dollars per acre. Dr. Dorsey, 
in 1868 and '69, purchased land for four dollars and fifty cents per 



380 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY. KY. 

acre, the identical ground upon which the town of Corydon is now- 
situated. 

A weekly mail was established and brought on foot or horseback 
by some of the settlers from the Point, now Smith's Mills. Dr. J. N. 
Dorsey was the first postmaster, and when, some years after, finding 
further service incompatible with his large and growing practice, gave 
up the position. A box was then fixed in the middle of the village, 
where the mail was deposited. 

Mrs. Dorsey suggested the name of Corydon and that name was 
adopted by the settlers. Dr. J. N. and William L. Dorsey established 
the first store at Corydon. The first school was taught by Baxter 
Cheatham, the great talker, at a place two miles in the direction of 
Smith's Mills. Another school was taught at the Rock Spring. The 
first church was built in 1820 at a point opposite and near the resi- 
dence of Mrs. Norwood. It was a Baptist church. Rev. McMahon 
occasionally preached, as did Methodist circuit riders 

W. B. Pentecost built the first tobacco stemmery at Corydon in 
1853. The first church was erected in 1853 by the Christian de- 
nomination. 

The greater part of the lands in this precinct are very fertile and 
productive. The principal crops consist of tobacco, corn and wheat. 
The farmers, as a general rule, are thrifty, intelligent, industrious and 
well to do. The raising of beef cattle has become one of the aims of 
many farmers in this precinct, and no better lands for grazing pur- 
poses are to be found in the county. 

There is no prettier territory to be found in Kentucky than that 
lying between Corydon and Smith's Mills. The average value per 
acre of lands in this precinct is now from twenty-five to thirty dollars. 

The town of Cor3'don is located upon two gently sloping hills, 
and is second in population and commercial importance to Hender- 
son The population of the Corydon Magisterial District, including 
the town as given in the Tenth United States Census, was 2,789. 
Population of the town, 544. Since that time the population has ma- 
terially increased. There are a number of handsome and comfortable 
houses in Corydon. So there are a number of manufacturing and 
mercantile enterprises. 

On the tenth day of March, 1884, Corydon was visited by a fire 
that swept away a dozen business and dwelling houses. This natur 
ally, of course, cast a gloom over the good people, but they soon 
rallied and rebuilt their burned property. Business revived and all 
was bright for the time. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 381 

The Ohio Valley Railroad was built to and beyond the town, a 
better and cheaper outlet was furnished, telephone and telegraph 
offices were established, a daily ^ail soon became another blessing, 
and the future of Corydon seemed bright indeed. But the fire fiend 
had not yet completed its wicked work ; it seemed that the town was 
doomed beyond peradventure, for on the ninth day of April, 1887, early 
in the morning when all were asleep, a fire broke out and before it 
could be checked sixteen stores and other buildings had succumbed 
to its merciless temper. This then was a most terrible calamity, and 
in every way calculated to demoralize the community, but it did not. 
Those who were the sufferers took renewed courage and determined 
to rebuild. There are now seven new houses in course of building 
and many more to follow so soon as building material can be had. 
Instead, then, of the fire being a curse, it has proven a blessing in 
bringing about the building of better houses and destroying traps that 
are always and at all times dangerous. 

In the town of Corydon there are four white churches, to-vvit : 
Christian, Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist, with large, intelligent 
congregations. There is a coal mine — supplying the town and sur- 
rounding country — which costs its stockholders $9,000 ; one planing 
mill ; one large flouring mill supplied with the latest and most im- 
proved machinery and capacity of one hundred barrels per day ; eight 
firms engaged in merchandising and three tobacco stemmeries of large 
handling capacity. In addition to the churches before mentioned, 
there are also three colored places of religious worship. 

In addition to all that has been said, Corydon glories in the pos- 
session of one of the best graded public schools to be found in the 
State. To the enterprise, good taste and liberality of that people, 
(and praised be their names), the youth, not only of the precinct but 
of the county, are offered and given a first-class High School educa- 
tion at a very moderate expenditure. All of the branches studied in 
ordinary colleges are taught in this school, except the Greek language. 
The act of the Legislature, creating this school was passed on the 
25th day of March, 1872, Wm. H. Hancock, John R. Wilson, Green 
W. Pritchett, Dr. John N. Dorsey, Charles L. King, Dr. James N. 
Powell, Dr. H. S. Jones and George W. McClure, incorporators. 

This also directed a district vote to be taken, and the levying 
and collecting of a tax of sixty cents upon the one hundred dollars' 
valuation, and a poll tax of six dollars. The election was held and 
the proposition carried by a handsome vote. The bonds, one hun- 
dred in number of one thousand dollars each, were issued and quickly 



382 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

disposed of at a premium in Corydon and Henderson. The original 
bonds bore 10 per cent, intereest, but since that time have been re- 
deemed at a lower rate. 

As soon after the sale of the bonds as possible, a magnificent 
two-story brick building was commenced at a cost of ten thousand 
dollars. This building was completed and occupied for the first time 
on September 1st, 1873. There were five teachers, 1st primary, 2d 
primary, intermediate, preparatory and high school. There was a 
board of eight trustees, which, at the time this sketch was written, 
was composed of the following named : John A. Stapp, Hon. Jos. V. 
Owen, Green W. Pritchett, Charles L. King, E. G. Powell, J. T. 
Head, H. H. Lawrence and John R. Wilson. Professor William 
Johnson, of Cincinnati, was the first superintendent. The first year 
the number of pupils enrolled aggregated 325 to 340 ; average daily 
attendance 230. There were fifteen or more non-resident pupils and 
from this source alone the school has annually received a benefit of 
siy or seven hundred dollars. The salaries were fixed at from ?30 to 
$45 per month for teachers, superintendent $90 per month. This 
school has invariably employed the best instructors and has graduated 
some of the brightest minds in the county. The location is healthy 
and never has the school been demoralized by sickness or trouble by 
the taxpayers. 

Corydon is located in a fine section of country, and with such 
public spirit and liberality as characterizes the citizens must eventually 
come to the front in commercial importance. There is no community 
to be found anywhere possessing a greater share of social culture and 
broad and liberal intelligence. 

Corydon was incorporated many years ago and has a police judge, 
marshal, police, &c. Among the early settlers of this precinct were : 
Dr. J. N. and Wm. L. Dorsey, John R. Wilson, William J. Powell, 
Baxter D. Cheatham, James Powell, Berry Gibson, Pressley Pritchett, 
Jack Pritchett and Albert Jones. Among the oldest now living are : 
Dr. J, N. Dorsey, Green W. Pritchett, Jno. R. Wilson, Thomas Ash, 
Herbert A. Powell, W, B. Pentecost and Jno. Trigg. 

GENEVA PRECINCT. 

Prior to 1880, the voters of this precinct, in order to exercise 
the right of elective franchise, were compelled to go either to Smith's 
Mills, Corydon or Henderson. The distance was an uncomfortable 
and fatiguing one. It was so with their court matters, and in order 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 383 

to remedy this, a petition, largel}' signed, was presented to the Court, 
and upon its hearing, on the 24th day of May, 1880, a precinct was 
established with two magistrates. This precinct was formed from 
portions of Smith's Mills Corydon and Henderson, and Geneva made 
the voting place. Originally Geneva was known as " Walker's," then 
the " Cross Roads," and is situated at the crossing of the Henderson 
and Smith's Mills, and Diamond Island and Corydon roads. The 
precinct lands are generally level and of a fine producing quality. 
The farmers are thrifty and intelligent. Diamond Island bend is in- 
cluded in this precinct, and for the production of corn and tobacco 
no better land is to be found in the county. It is in this bend where 
sportsmen find the greatest pleasure in the fall, winter and spring 
months, duck and goose shooting. There are a great number of 
sloughs and ponds, and with the coming of cold weather these are 
literally taken possession of by wild ducks and geese. The village of 
Geneva consists of a postoffice, four or five stores, a blacksmith shop, 
a grist mill, and several residenc.es. Mr. J. T. Sandefur, one of the 
most successful and intelligent raisers and handlers of bees, has his 
apiary near Geneva, where he collects annually a large amount of 
honey. 

On the twenty-fourth day of September, 1864, a company of ne- 
gro soldiers, returning from a recruiting (or negro stealing) expedition 
to Corydon, passed through Geneva, and while there discovered that 
one of the men was afflicted with the small pox. They determined 
to leave him, and did leave him, only to meet the savage vengeance 
of a party of rebels close on their heels. This unfortunate soldier 
was captured and taken to a woods near by and there hung and left 
dead. The sequel to this hanging will be found in the brutal murder 
of young Wathen, of Union County, published in the history of the 
county. 

Among the oldest inhabitants of this precinct are Captain E. D. 
McBride, J. T. Sandefur, Walter A. Towles, John Farmer and W. A. 
Sisson. 

HEBARDSVILLE PRECINCT. 

This precinct was formed on the twentieth day of December, 1851, 
with voting place at Hebardsville. It borders on Green River, and 
consequently the greater portion of the precinct is hilly. Very many 
of the finest tobacco and corn farms to be found in the county are 
located in this precinct. In addition to this, fruit can be more suc- 
cessfully grown on the hills adjacent to Green River than elsewhere 



384 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

in the county. There is an abundance of the finest timber known to 
this country. The tenth United States census gives this precinct a 
population of 2,280. 

The early history, as written of other precincts, apply to this. 
Early settlers had the same embarrassments and difficulties to con- 
tend with, although the first road established in the county ran 
through this precinct. Mr. Craven Boswell, was one of the earliest 
settlers, and at one time owned pretty much all the land adjoining 
and adjacent to the town of Hebardsville. A great portion of this 
land he donated to others in order to induce immigration and build 
up the country. The town of Hebardsville was named for Mr. 
Charles Hebard, who in very early times opened and carried on a 
blacksmith shop at that point. One of the first grist and saw mills 
known in the county was built in this precinct and operated by 
George McCormick. This mill was an undershot concern, located 
on Lick Creek, and built in 1808 or 1809. The lumber used in 
building the old Johnson House, in the town of Henderson, was 
sawed at this mill in 1809. In 1830 Mr. McCormick sold the mill to 
Philip Vanbussum, who operated it a few years and sold to Richard 
Hazelwood. In 1848 or 1849 Mr. Boswell, after having disposed of 
a quantity of his lands, died, leaving six children, only two of whom 
are now living, William, and Mrs. Catharine McFarland. 

Hebardsville is the leading village or town in the precinct, and 
as a commercial point offers many inducements. It is surrounded by 
a magnificent tobacco and corn territory and a thrifty, well to do pop- 
ulation of planters. Hebardsville has a number of merchants and 
business men, all of whom are accumulating slowly but surely. C. 
W. Johnson, R. S. Hart, Boswell Bros., George Willingham, George 
Reed, John Abb Johnston, Saunders Biggs, Joe Robertson, Oliver 
and Jack Malone, are among the number of merchants; George Neg- 
ley operates a coal bank one and a half miles from Hebardsville and 
supplies the entire country surrounding with coal of the best quality. 
There are three churches at and near Hebardsville, the Cumberland 
Presbyterian, Baptist (Bethel) and Methodist. The Cumberland and 
Baptist are among the oldest known to the county. James Carroll 
operates a saw mill and turns out the best lumber for building pur- 
poses. There is one district school presided over by a competent 
teacher. Bluff City, a few miles below on Green River, is also in 
this precinct. It has a post office, saw mill and store. It is prettily 
located and ought to become a fine shipping point. Among the 
early settlers of Hebardsville were Craven Boswell, Charles Hebard, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 385 

Turner Denton, Benjamin L. Hicks, Samuel Pirtle, Caleb Hall, Ed- 
ward D. Bennett, Robert McFarland and John B. Davis. Among 
the oldest inhabitants now living"mre Benjamin L. Hicks, Rev. Abram 
Hatchett, William Boswell, Arthur Hicks, Richard Roach, Wash. But- 
ler, James Willingham, Stark Haynes, and others. Hebardsville, and 
the precinct bearing its name, is peopled by a law-abiding, intelligent 
class of citizens. The society in and around the town, in a social 
sense, is fully up with the times, well educated, intelligent and hos- 
pitable. At Mason's Landing, on Green River, Thomas Hust has a 
stemmery, where annually he purchases and handles the great bulk 
of the tobacco grown in that portion of the precinct. It was in this 
precinct, and near Hebardsville, that Colonels Adam Johnson and 
Bob Martin, during the war, 1863 or 1864, captured Dr. Kimbly, of 
Owensboro, while en route behind a dashing team to Henderson. Miss 
Shelby, now Mrs. John Folden, was in the buggy with the doctor at 
the time. Colonel Martin relieved the doctor of the reins and saw 
her safely to her uncle, John McCormick, while Colonel Johnson 
took charge of the prisoner. About the same place and time old 
man Solomon Oberdorfer, so well known throughout this county, was 
arrested, together with a drove of mules which he was taking to Evans- 
ville for Government purposes. He was taken to Slaughtersville and 
there released and given his mules. The guerrillas made frequent 
raids into Hebardsville and were a source of great annoyance to the 
resident business interest. There was an incident in the life of 
Thomas McFarland, who lived in this precinct, three miles from Heb- 
ardsville, in the direction of Henderson, unsurpassed by any of the 
recollections of that bloody period. 

In July, 1862, he and his old maid sister, who had lived together 
since the birth of the younger, and were yet fighting life's battles as 
brother and sister, side by side, on the old homestead, were awakened 
in the dead hour of the night by a call at the gate, only a few feet from 
the house. It was a beautiful night, the moon was shining in all of 
its glory, its shimmering, silvery rays making gloriously bright the 
whole face of the earth. Closely and snugly slept the subject of this 
sketch in one room of the log building, while his sister slept in the 
other, just across the hall. Twelve well armed and determined men 
had now surrounded the house, watching every approach and awaiting 
the command of their leader. McFarland lay unconscious of his 
terrible surroundings, while his sister, who had awakened at the first 
call, and was arising to know what was wanted, little thought of the 

25 



386 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

frightful ordeal through which she was soon to pass, and thus it is 
with man. He passes more frequently than he ever dreams of through 
startling dangers. He treads upon the brink of eternity, and wan- 
ders close by his opening tomb, and yet he is none the wiser and none 
the more thoughtful. In his most pleasant moments, and when he 
least imagines, death is often grinning close at hand, and sorrow 
treading hard upon his heels. Thus it was with Thomas McFarland, 
while at every avenue of approach or escape stood a remorseless sol- 
dier only awaiting developments to give the signal of death. Another 
call from the gate and he arose, approached the little window and 
asked what was wanted. 

" We are home guards from across the river in Daviess County, 
and want our suppers and horses fed," was the significant and unmis- 
takable reply. 

It was now after midnight, a curious time to want supper. His 
sister, hearing the reply and apprehending that all was not safe for 
her brother, approached his room and asked of him what should be 
done. 

" Take them something to eat," was his quick reply, for he had 
never been known to turn a hungry man from his door. He partook 
of his sister's uneasiness, and placing himself at the door leading 
from his room to the hall or passage way through the building, deter- 
mined to defend his life and home at any cost. His sister secured 
a ham and some bread and quietly unbolted the front door, when three 
or more horrid men, armed to the teeth, pushing her aside, exclaimed : 
" Clear the way, that is not what we want ; it's your brother 
Tom, and him we intend to kill in spite of hell." 

The poor sister, frightened beyond understanding, sunk to the 
floor in piteous screams for mercy, but there was no mercy there. 
At this moment Mr. McFarland barred the door to his room and stood 
with the weight of his body against it. Several attempts were made 
to force it in, but without effect. The leader then called to six men 
to burst in the door, but in this they yet failed. Seeing this, the leader 
yelled a loud " Clear the way, I'll get him," and with this announce- 
ment fired sixteen buckshot through the door. Fortunately, as he 
said " Clear the way," Mr. McFarland anticipated his meaning, and 
he too cleared the way by stepping back to the wall of the house, the 
sixteen buckshot passing directly under his arm and in uncomfortable 
proximity to his body. With the firing the leader, so certain was he 
that he had killed his man, called at a loud voice, "Damn him, I've 
got him." At that the outer guards left their posts and rushed to the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 387 

hall. Mr. McFarland, taking time by the forelock, and realizing that 
now was his only chance, leaped from a back entrance, master of the 
situation, and trimmed for '* out-^vinging" even the air piercing mes- 
senger of death sent after him. He was unincumbered, no bopts or 
shoes, coats or pants, retarded his progress, his garment was light 
and frail, of a pure white and fine texture, its tail fluttered in the 
breeze as though it were propelled by an arrow, and in this make-up 
he made three jumps from the door to an eight rail fence, over which 
he skipped as though it were one rail, and without halting. He was 
not troubled with a shortness of breath, but, as he progressed, seemed 
to accumulate wind and power of endurance. He in a moment more 
reached the woods, and there secreted himself to await the exit of his 
midnight visitors. Shortly after his successful escape, his would-be 
murderers broke in the door to his room and fired promiscuously into 
his bed and a trundle bed standing close by, but the bird had flown. 
The wads from the pistols set the bed clothing on fire, and but for the 
intercessions of his sister the house and contents would have been 
burned to the ground. At her request, some of the men threw the 
bed clothing out of the window, where it was permitted to burn un- 
molested. They then robbed the premises, getting some thirty-five 
dollars in money and all the good clothes he had. They then took 
what little money his old sister had and vacated the house, sadly dis- 
appointed at their failure to capture and kill the object of their visit. 
Two negro men were then pressed into their service, and with them, 
two men of the command went to the pasture and tok therefrom two 
very fine young horses, one of which belonged to the sister. The 
command then left, going in the direction of Hollow Port, and pass- 
ing but a few yards away from where Mr. McFarland was concealed 
in the brush. He had witnessed the taking of the horses, and the 
two negro men had witnessed his exit, which they compared to the 
flitting by of some spiritual apparition. After it was well believed 
that the midnight murderers had gone for good, the negro men ap- 
proached the woods and at a signal called their master to them. He 
came tremblingly, yet satisfying himself that all was well for^him. 
Once there he delivered his orders, one of which was to bring him 
some suitable garments and the news from the seat of war. This was 
soon done, and ajl evidence of his safety being fully assured he began 
to take an invoice of himself to see if he was all together, and, 
strange as it may appear, his feet were not scratched, nor was a hem 
of his garment torn, and, stranger still, an old chronic crick which 
had set in his neck, and had been pronounced incurable by his phy- 



388 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

sicians, had disappeared, and the once perfectly stiff member was 
now as supple as a limber jack. 

For this, of course, he was thankful, and as a solace for all that 
had passed thanked Providence for the cure, even though such terrible 
means had been used to produce the result. Having dressed himself in 
all that was left him, he made silent tracks, not to his home, but 
through the lonely woods in the direction of town. He pursued his 
journey with both eyes piercing in every direction and both ears sen- 
sitive to every rustle of the leaves. He came into the public road 
at John McCormick's just at daylight and followed it from there into 
the city. 

From that time to November, 1865, three years therafter, Mr. 
McFarland slept away from his house. The attack was made upon 
his home a few days before General Adam Johnson captured New- 
burgh, and when that distinguished commander was pursued through 
Henderson County by Captain Union Bethel with thirty-eight 
mounted men from Newburgh and Col. Gavin with a regiment of in- 
fantry, Mr. McFarland accompanied the expedition with the hope of 
capturing some of the disturbers of his peace and happiness, and re- 
gain if possible his lost property. When John Patterson, one of 
Johnson's most daring soldiers, was shot through both eyes in the 
end of the lane of the old Samuels place, this side of Slaughtersville, 
McFarland was riding in the rear at the time and was the only man in 
the whole command who volunteered to get Patterson to some house 
where he could be carefully and comfortably provided for. He took 
him to the house of Mr. Samuels and there left him. At the time of 
Patterson's wounding he thought Bethel's men were rebels from the 
manner in which they were dressed, and laboring under this mistake, 
he with others, dashed into the road between the advance guard and 
the command, and at a loud voice gave the command '* right and left 
face about." Seeing this Captain Bethel, Dr. McGill and Private 
Root dashed at him, but McGill's horse being the fleetest footed 
gave him the advantage and it was him who fired the shot that shut 
out the world to Patterson forever. Patterson's comrades escaped 

On the first night out Bethel's command captured Willis P'ields 
at his house on the old Knoblick Road near Robard's Station, and 
recaptured many of the guns, blankets, etc., ta)len by Johnson's 
command at the Newburgh surrender. Mr. McFarland was pres- 
ent just after the killing of Lieutenant Braydon, an account of which 
will be found under the head of Robards Station Precinct. He re- 
turned to Henderson with the remains of the dead lieutenant and 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 389 

was never again out with a scouting party. He has ever believed 
that he knew the men who were at his house on that terrible eleventh 
of July, 1862, and as the intelligence of each one's death reached 
him he was rejoiced of course. ^■■ 

It is said, with one or two exceptions, perhaps, the whole gang 
has been swept from the face of the earth, each one meeting a 
horrible death. After the war Mr. McFarland returned to his farm 
and labored hard to repair the loss incurred by lost time until last 
January, when he, as before stated, removed into the city. Unex- 
pectedly to him he succeeded during the war and just after its close in 
securing his long lost horses. 

ROBARD'S STATION PRECINCT. 

This precinct as now known was originally a part of District No. 
t, with voting place in the town of Henderson. A few year there- 
after it became a part of District No. 2, with voting place at Gaflo- 
way's, now in the Hebardsville Precinct. In 1851, after the adop- 
tion of the present constitution, a part of Robard's Station Precinct, 
as now known, voted at Randall Osburn's, and a part at Achilles Nor- 
ment's, then at Tillotson's, then at Charles Leig's. In 1875 the pres- 
ent district was formed. 

At the formation of this precinct the voting place was established 
at George Rudy's old school house near McMullin's chapel. A short 
time thereafter it was changed to the Station. The eastern part of 
this precinct is rather hilly and rocky, the western level and very pro- 
ductive. Even the hilliest part of the district produces finely. The 
Green River hills produce the finest tobacco brought to this market. 
The district, as a general thing, is peopled by a thrifty, intelligent 
class of farmers, who are keeping step with this progressive age by 
building substantial plank fences in place of the old rail, and otherwise 
improving and enhancing the real and producing value of their 
realty. The improvement since the completion of the railroad has 
been very marked. 

FIRST CHURCH AND SCHOOL. 

George Rudy's school house, near McMullin's chapel, is the 
oldest in the district and is yet standing. This building has been 
used not only for school purposes but for church purposes also. Wash- 
ington Sale was the first teacher, and was followed by David Cowan, 
Frank Davis and Joseph C. Norman, between the years 1840 and '48. 
McMullins Chapel was the first house built exclusively for religious 
worship, known to have been built in the district since its formation. 



390 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

This house was built by the Methodist denomination, and was dedi- 
cated and consecrated in 1853 by Rev. William Edmunds. At Cherry 
Hill the regular Baptists have a church to which Rev. Spaurlin, of 
Caldwell County, makes regular visitations. 

COAL MINES. 

Within the last few years three surface mines have been opened, 
and a very fine article of coal taken therefrom. These mines are 
located one, two and three miles from the L. & N. R. R., and are 
owned respectively by A. J. Denton, L. M. Cheaney and Enoch Eak- 
kins. 

FRUIT NURSERY. 

Near the station is where Parsons & Sandefur operated their 
large nursery, growing large stocks of fruit trees of all kinds indige- 
nous to this climate. They also grew all of the grape varieties. 

THE WAR. 

This precinct was kept at fever heat during a good portion of the 
war. Many of its citizens volunteered under Colonel Adam Johnson, 
and, during the time the recruiting service was executing its mission, 
many little skirmishes were had in and near its borders. Likewise, a 
number joined the Federal forces, and they were anxious that their 
homes should remain unmolested ; in other words, that the Confeder- 
ates keep out of their territory. 

In the summer of 1862, Colonels Johnson and Martin, on their 
return from the Newburg raid to headquarters at Slaughtersville, Ky., 
were pursued by Captain Union Bethel and thirty-eight mounted New- 
burgers, supported by Colonel Gavin's regiment of infantry. Near 
the old Samuel's place, above Robard's Station, Captain Megill, of 
Bethel's command, shot John Patterson, of Sebree City, through both 
eyes. Patterson was one of Colonel Johnson's most daring soldiers 
and his shooting, of course, greatly enraged the Confederates. They 
then determined to punish the enemy in every way possible, and to 
this end ambushed them at every turn in the road Colonel Gavin's 
commissary supplies running low, he dispatched Lieutenant Braydon 
and a few men with wagons to Henderson for the purpose of getting 
fresh supplies. Gavin accompanied Lieutenant Braydon, wearing an 
ordinary linen duster, while the Lieutenant was dressed in full mili- 
tary suit. The two were riding along the lane just back of Robard's 
Station, and not over a mile away, and about one or two hundred 
yards in advance of the wagon train, when just opposite Parsons & 
Sandefur's nursery, a party of Confederates lying in ambush took de- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 391 

liberate aim and fired. At the crack of their guns Lieutenant Bray- 
don and his horse both fell mortally wounded and died in a few min- 
utes. It would seem that each shot was aimed at Braydon (owing to 
his shining dress), for Colonel Qavin was but slightly wounded in the 
arm. At this fire Gavin dashed into the woods and scampered away 
as fast as his horse could carry him. The Confederates, in the mean- 
time, retreated in the opposite direction. Gavin soon found that his 
horse was giving away under him, and but a moment after discovered 
that the animal was badly wounded. Dismounting and leaving him 
in the woods, he footed it alone in this dangerous country until he 
came in sight of a house, which he cautiously approached to ask the 
way to Henderson. This was Mr. Franklin Lester's and that gentle- 
man, or some one of the household, kindly gave the Colonel the de- 
sired information. Colonel Gavin suffered terribly from his wound, 
yet hurried along through the woods and succeeded in reaching Hen- 
derson next morning. Braydon was fired at by fourteen men, and 
upon examination of his body it was found to be literally shot to pieces 
with buckshot. 

Renz Fisher, a Captain in Colonel Johnson's command, and 
an officer of great personal daring, was raised in this precinct. His 
father lived a few miles from the Station on the Knoblick road, and 
during the summer of 1864, when the City of Henderson was invested 
by Federal soldiers, under command of Colonel John W. Foster, he 
ventured into the precinct and pitched camp a mile or more away 
from his father's house in the direction of Green River. News of 
this was brought to Foster, and by a returned Confederate soldier. 
Without divulging to his informant any of his plans, or making any 
promises, Foster very quietly ordered Lieutenant Carey, with double 
the number of men Fisher was represented to have had under him, to 
move out cautiously during the night, so as to be near the place of 
rendezvous by daylight the next morning. Lieutenant Carey had 
met Fisher before, and at one time received a bullet hole from his 
gun while in ambush along the roadside. Carey and his command ar- 
rived in sight of old man Fisher's house about one hour before day- 
light, and dismounted. He left a sufficient number of men to take 
care of the horses, and with the others proceeded on to a point in the 
woods opposite Fisher's house, where they secreted themselves, hoping 
to capture Renz Fisher and one or two of his men, whom be believed 
to be asleep in the house. 

Just before or about sunrise, he heard the cracking of weeds and 
bushes and the rustling of leaves proceeding from a ravine or ditch 



392 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

in an old field lying directly to his right. Carey was ambushed near 
the corner of this old field and just across the Knoblick Road di- 
rectly in front of the Fisher homestead. It was but a few moments 
more when he discovered the form of a man cautiously moving up 
the ditch in the direction of the house. Every movement of his 
body and the keen, nervous, suspecting glances of his eyes, showed 
that he was guilty. He manifested an uneasiness, a cautiousness, 
which at once satisfied Lieutenant Carey that the man was a rebel 
soldier and just from the camp. He would move forward a few 
steps, then halt on tip-toe and take a careful survey of all that sur- 
rounded him ; his approach to the road was intensely nervous and cau- 
tious, yet he moved on, little thinking that the keen eye of one whom he 
had ambushed only a few weeks before was watching his every move- 
ment now, and that an unerring carbine cocked and primed, was pointed 
directly at him. He reached the fence only a short distance away from 
Carey, he climbed it and was in a moment more standing in the cen- 
ter of the road, stretching his body, first surveying with rapid look in 
the direction of Henderson and then toward the Station. The long 
flowing curly locks which hung down his back glistened in the bright 
sunlight and all was now well with him. He turned his breast towards 
the very tree behind which his enemy lay secreted, and giving his 
head a gentle shake of self-satisfaction, started to move on in the di- 
rection of the house. An imaginary sound again attracted his atten- 
tion to the woods, and again halted, exposed to the full view of the 
enemy. During all of this exciting time Carey watched him with the 
eye of a hawk, endeavoring, if possible, to satisfy himself beyond 
peradventure that it was Renz Fisher. His carbine was pointed at 
him and a perfect bead drawn on his breast. As the doomed man 
straightened himself on tip-toe and gave one more shake of his head 
to disentangle his uncombed locks, Carey recognized him for certain 
and pulled trigger. Instantaneously at the report of the carbine the 
cautious rebel sprang into the air and fell full length upon the ground 
pierced through. This report brought out the inmates of the house, 
and soon old man Fisher was standing over the body of his dead boy 
in company with his slayer and other soldiers. The old man was 
called to identify the body, and protested he knew him not. Carey 
knew better, and drawing his carbine demanded that he tell or suffer 
the penalty of his duplicity. Then he took hold of the dead body, 
and with a shriek of pent-up anguish screamed aloud, " Oh, it is my 
boy, my darling boy !" 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 393 

The old man was then required to pilot the command to the 
rebel camp, which he did. On arriving there it was found that the 
last soldier had scampered away at the firing of the gun which had 
killed their captain, leaving a f-gw horses, guns and other camp equip- 
age. The body of the son was then given to the father and the com- 
mand returned to the city where Carey was greatly lionized. He at- 
tended the Presbyterian Church that day and worshipped as uncon- 
cernedly as though he had not ambushed and killed a human in the 
public highway, four or five hours previous to that time. 

YOUNGER & JARRETT. 

It is asserted by those who profess to know, that in February, 
1873, the noted outlaws, Jim Younger and John Garrett, visited Ro- 
bards and remained in the neighborhood three months. That they 
traveled from New Orleans in a spring wagon drawn by two horses. 
That they went from Robards to Louisville to see the renowned de- 
tective, Yankee Bligh, who was in search of them, and failing to find 
the old man returned to Robards. That they made fr'iquent visits to 
Henderson, although the officials were searching for them. That they 
were orderly and well-behaved when not under the influence of liq- 
uor. When they determined to leave Kentucky they quietly drove to 
the Mt. Vernon ferry and crossed the Ohio into Indinna. All this 
they did when there were perhaps a hundred men on the look-out' for 
them. 

SPRINGS AND CURIOSITIES. 

The County of Henderson contains many mineral springs, but 
the one near A. J. Denton's farm in this precinct is by far the best 
chalybeate to be found in the county, and no doubt the equal of any in 
the State. It is located about three miles from the Station in what 
is known as the Rock House branch. Not far away from this spring, 
surrounded by the wildest and most romantic scenery, is found the 
Rock House and Buzzard Hole. These two are remarkable natural 
curiosities, and even to this day have never been explored. 

It is said, that some years ago, Mr. Geo. W. King, the then 
owner of the land, employed a miner to explore the hidden recesses 
of this house, but after laboring some time the work was suddenly 
abandoned and the miner went away. He pursued his journey to 
near Green River where he had lived, and where he was soon after 
taken sick and died. Before death, however, he told his wife he had 
something he wanted to tell Mr. King, and then divulged the secret 
to her, of the Rock House and what he had done, and further said 
he would not strike another lick until he had earned enough to be- 



394 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

come the purchaser of the natural wonder. Mr. King arrived too 
late to see him alive and his wife refused to tell what she had been 
told. His discoveries, if any, have never to this day been known. 

This Rock House is made of a semi-circular shelf, projecting 
fifty feet over the surface with earth rock and scrubby trees, one hun- 
dred to one hundred and fifty feet above the shelf. Underneath this is 
a passage way which leads to a cave, the mouth of which is fifty feet 
distant. This cave has been explored to a distance of forty or fifty 
feet to a hole in the wall, through which no man has ever gone, and 
what is beyond is a hidden mystery. Off from the cave is the " Buz- 
zard Hole," an irregular shaped hole leading into a mountain of rock. 
Many years ago, Esquire Moss, while driving with his hounds, 
jumped a deer in the neighborhood of this shelf rock and in the chase 
the deer and one or more of the dogs ran over this high projecting 
mountain and fell dead on the surface below. It is located in the 
wildest part of the county and is very difficult of approach, in fact a 
person must be well posted indeed, who can engineer his way to the 
shelf. During the war it was used as a safe place of rendezvous 
for frightened and uneasy soldiers and citizens. The surrounding 
country is very hilly and mountainous, some rock hills standing 200 
feet above the valleys. The shelf rock is almost perpendicular. The 
property now belongs to W. G. Vaughn. 

Some time since the Calhoun, Ky., Progress contained a lengthy 
notice of this remarkable freak of nature, and among other things, it is 
said, that while one George Fryor, was searching around in this cave 
he happened to turn over a stone, and under that found a letter dated 
" Plotter's Cave," April 20th, 1868, which told of a hidden treasure, 
also, that on a large rock was engraved the names of J- H. Letcher 
and J. L. B. Bowder. This letter was mysteriously signed M. N. P., 
which being interpreted, evidently meant for the finder to make no 
proselytes to the lie he had written. Certain it is, the " hidden treas- 
ure " has never been discovered. 

Since the war this precinct has doubled itself in population, espec- 
ially in the sub-division of lands. For instance Mr. J. D. Robards owned 
eight hundred and fifty acres of land in a body at the close or just after 
the war which is now divided and worked in tracts of one hundred and 
ten acres. The average price of lands at this time is between twenty 
and twenty-five dollars. While tobacco, corn and wheat is the chief 
products of the precinct, a number of farmers are largely engaged in 
cattle raising, and find the country eminently adapted to that branch 
of business. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 395 

REGULATORS. 

A great many years ago this country was visited by men of bad 
repute from Christian, Hopkins, and other counties, and after submit- 
ting until forbearance ceased to be a virtue, a band of regulators, as 
they were called, organized and cleared the country of the outlaws. 

RACE TRACKS. 

At> far back as 1810 and up to 1840, and even later, perhaps, 
where the station is now located, was a straight quarter or half mile 
race track where men used to congregate to bet, test the speed 
of their animals, drink liquor and otherwise indulge their vicious and 
uncultured appetites. 

LODGES. 

The Odd Fellows have a lodge at the station. 

CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 

There is one commodious frame building used for the District 
Common School and for religious services. The Christian denomina- 
tion have the only established church, S. W. Cowan, minister. This 
congregation meets once a month and have occasional Sunday school 
meetings. 

FIRST BUILDING. 

J. D. Robards, for whom the precinct and station is called, built 
the first house in 1867. This was u frame store-house and occupied 
by him as a dry goods, grocery and general merchandise store. In 
this store he has carried on a business aggregating from twenty-five 
to forty thousand dollars per annum. 

In addition to this he owns and operates a tobacco stemmery, 
three stories 70x120 feet, in which he handles from two hundred to 
two hundred and fifty hogsheads of strips annually. He works from 
forty to fifty employes and ships direct from the station to Europe. 

Mr. James Cheaney does a snug business in the manufacture of 
brooms made of straw raised in the precinct. 

EARLY SETTLERS. 

Among that number are Reuben Moss, George Robards, George 
Eakins, Bennett Sandefur, Jordan Moss, Enoch Spencer, Thomas 
Reidout, Ben Wall, Nathan Smith, T. W. Royster, Jas. McMullin, 
Sam'l M'Mullin, Sr. Among the oldest inhabitants now living are : 
Thomas Royster, J. F. Toy, Enoch Spencer, W. N. Royster and 
Marshall Robards. Mrs. Prissey Long, widow of Jno. Long, is the 
oldest inhabitant now living. 



396 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

N. B. — Since writing the foregoing, Robards has voted prohibition 
and it is said the wealth of the place has more than doubled. They 
now have nine stores, all doing well; one steam mill; one school 
building that is a credit to ihe county ; one large church with seating 
capacity of 350 to 400 ; one large livery stable and one good hotel. 
The population of the town has increased fully two hundred per cent, 
in the last three years. 

SCUFFLETOWN PRECINCT. 

This district was originally a part of Ohio County, but by an act 
of the Legislature, approved January 16th, 1809, was taken from Ohio 
and added to Henderson County, and bounded as follows : Beginning 
on the Ohio at the mouth of Green River, and running up the Ohio 
to where the line of Henderson & Co.'s grant strikes the same, thence 
with said line to Green River, thence down the same to the beginning. 

For a number of years the qualified voters of this district voted 
at Henderson and then at Galloway's, near Hebardsville. 

After the adoption of the new Constitution, and on the sixth day of 
January, 1851, the district was again established as follows : Begin- 
ning at the mouth of Green River, thence up the Ohio River, includ- 
ing the Islands, to the dividing line between Henderson and Daviess 
Counties, thence with the said County lines to where it strikes Green 
River, thence down Green River to the beginning ; place of voting at 
the house of Isaac Clark. The voting place was continued at Clark's 
for a number of years after the war, when it was changed to Shelby's 
store at Scuffle town. All that part of the district lying across Green 
River, and opposite and above Spottsville, vote at Spottsville. 

Among the earliest settlers of this district were Henry Jeems, 
Jacob Fickers, Richard Van Kirk, Jonathan Stott, John Fuquay and 
Martin Vanada. During the year 1809 Eneas McCallister settled a 
few miles below the present town. Ten or twelve years after this, 
John Harrison, Edmund Galloway, Alfred Hill, John Folden, George 
McCormick, William Shelby, Charles Winfrey and others settled 
in the district. 

From 1800 to 1804, and perhaps years afterward, Jonathan Stott 
kept a tavern and bar at the point where Shelby's store is now located. 
He was said to be a wild sort of character and invited that class of 
men around him. The banks of the Ohio River at that time offered 
but few landing places, and in low water Stott's tavern was quite a 
place of resort and rendezvous for flatboatmen. Here they would 
hold high carnival and indulge their appetites for drink, as Stott kept 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 397 

a plenty of it. As was most generally the case at such gatherings, 
difficulties occurred and a general fight would ensue. From this the 
country around Stott's received^'the name of Scuffletown, a name which 
has clung to it from that day to this. 

From a few miles below Stott's to the mouth of Green River, the 
country has always been known as the point. 

There were no doctors in this part of the county in early times. 
Drs. James Hamilton and Gaither, of the town of Henderson, were 
frequently called there, and after their time most of the practice 
was done by Drs. Levi Jones and Owen Glass, of Henderson, and 
Dr. Trafton, of Evansville. Chills and fevers for many years were 
the annoyance of the whole river country, and from these malarial 
pests Scuffletown suffered as much as any other part of the river lands. 

In early times, and even up to 1830, the settlers in this part of 
the county suffered greatly from the ravages of wild animals. Wolves 
and bear were there in abundance, and in the early summer the bear 
would come in, break down the young corn and destroy the ears. 
During the years 1827, '28 and '29, a large number of bear were killed. 
Nathaniel G. Stanley has been known to kill as high as fifteen during 
one winter, and from his wonderful success received the appellation of 
" Daniel Boone " of the precinct. 

There were no schools in the earliest days of the settlement, but 
in 1817 Jonathan Bunn was employed by Eneas McCallister, father of 
John E. McCallister, to teach a neighborhood school. One morning 
before opening his school, he was called by the barking of Mr. 
McCallister's dogs to a neighboring thicket and there discovered, in 
a tree, a large black bear. Mr. McCallister was notified and with his 
trusty rifle soon fell bruin to the ground, and had him conveyed to his 
house. The skins of these animals were sold in those days for the 
moderate sum of one dollar and fifty cents. 

The whole face of the country was covered with cane, affording a 
most excellent food for cattle. 

CURIOSITIES. 

On Green River, below the mouth of Griffith Creek, is a large 
mound, one hundred feet in circumference at its base, and fully fifteen 
feet in height, and near by are large holes from which the earth was 
taken to build the mound. From what is known of this mound, it is 
safe to say it was built by the Mound Builders, a race of people who 
inhabited the country anterior to the red man. 



398 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The first church ever built in this part of the county, of which 
anything is known, was erected by the Christian denomination on the 
Vanada farm in 1830. A story characteristic of Charles Winfrey, an 
old bachelor who lived near Scuffletovvn, is told. He seldom ever 
attended church, but when this one was established, and after several 
sermons had been preached, he partook of the curiosity which had 
seized the whole country around, and one day had his old grey mare 
saddled to attend and see for himself. Going along the road in the 
direction of the church, he was halted by one of his neighbors and 
interrogated as to where he was journeying. " I am going up here to 
church. I learn that these people have discovered a new route to 
Heaven fully forty miles nearer, and I am going to see for myself." 

Charles Winfrey was the first magistrate in the precinct, having 
been appointed in the year 1821. He was succeeded by Charles W. 
Allen ; he by George McCormick, and he by John E. McCallister. all 
under the old Constitution. 

This precinct has always been noted for its large number of pecan 
trees. The number on the lands of Esq. John E. McCallister have 
for many years aggregated fully five hundred, and one year he realized 
one thousand dollars from this crop alone. 

William Shelby, Jr., in 1865 packed his tobacco and shipped to 
Europe. In 1860 he went to Scuffletown and with his uncle, John S. 
McCormick, built a tobacco stemmery and embarked regularly in 
tobacco stemming for the European markets. Their average business 
was from four hundred to four hundred and fifty hhds. per year. In 
the year 1877 the firm put up six hundred hhds. Up to 1860 the 
planters had never engaged largely in tobacco growing, but through 
the efforts of Mr. Shelby, a larger crop was grown. In 1877 1,100,000 
pounds were produced, the largest crop ever known, and with perhaps 
a few thousand pounds, this entire crop was bought and handled by 
Shelby & McCormick. 

In 1868 Shelby & McCormick built a large storehouse near their 
factory and stocked it with a general assortment of merchandise. 

A steam grist mill and blacksmith shop soon followed. This 
firm did a very large business selling from their store, many years as 
high as forty thousand dollars worth of goods, and averaging one year 
with another, fully thirty thousand dollar sales. The average product 
of this precinct is from 500 to 600,000 pounds of tobacco, and 150,000 
bushels of corn. 

The precinct comprises about twelve thousand acres of land, 
mostly cleared ; six thousand acres are within the bounds of the fence 



HISTORY^ OfJhENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 399 

company's lines, and are mostly in a high state of cultivation. There 
is no better land to be found on the Continent than that bordering on 
the river. i?" 

The precinct now has three district schools and one Union 
Church. The church was built several years ago by private subscrip- 
tion, and upon its completion was dedicated by the Rev. J. W. 
Pondexter, now of Texas. A magnificent dinner was spread on the 
occasion and hundreds of people attended. 

Through the influence of Mr. Shelby and others a post office was 
established at Scuffletown, and the first mail received in 1867. John 
W. Folden was appointed Post Master and served up to June, 1881. 

MURDERS. 

On the night of the 4th of December, 1836, William Wurnell, a 
desperate character, stabbed and killed Abner Jones in what was 
known as Lake Town, on the Ohio River, six miles above Scuflletown, 
at the house of Ike Dover. John E. McCallister was the District 
Magistrate at the time, and upon information, issued his warrant for 
Wurnell's arrest. The murderer had fled, but was afterwards captured 
opposite Smithland and brought back, tried and held to the Grand 
Jury. An indictment was found, a conviction had and Wurnell hung 
in the town of Henderson. 

STEALING NEGROES 

During the latter part of the war, when the draft act was being 
so rigidly enforced by the Federal authorities, substitutes were in great 
demand, commanding in many mstances as high a price as one 
thousand dollars. At that time there were a great many likely negro 
men in the Scuffietown precinct, and strange to say they had been let 
alone by the army of negro thieves on the border. These negroes 
were well treated and contented to remain where they were, but the 
desire for gain and the easy manner in which large sums of money 
could be accumulated by thieving scoundrels in Indiana, soon 
unsettled their happy lives and completely disarranged all of their 
plans. Interlopers from Indiana were continually slipping into 
Kentucky and whispering in the night time to them stories of a joyous 
freedom. These scoundrels professed to be their friends and mani- 
fested a desire to spirit them away to the land of freedom where they 
could find employment and be masters of their own labor. The 
negroes were not much disposed to listen to their glowing stories, and 
yet hesitated. 



400 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

All this time the draft was going on and the unlucky were seeking 
substitutes. Many Indianians of wealth were drafted and were willing 
to pay any price for a sound man as a substitute. Finally a regularly 
organized clan for the purpose of driving the negroes, whether they 
wanted to go or not, appeared upon Kentucky soil, and succeeded in 
securing a goodly number to accompany them upon the promise of a 
rich reward. These poor deluded darkies would go, and when once 
over the river were sold into the army, and their white friends would 
pocket the money. The planters in Scuffletown organized a patrol 
to guard the river front and shoot down any mterloper coming across 
the river without satisfactory credentials ; and yet, with all their 
vigilance, they continued to lose their negroes. 

MR. CHARLES WINFREY, 

An old bachelor, and the largest land and slave owner in the precinct, 
was continually annoyed by these night prowlers. He was kind to 
his slaves and none of them wanted to leave him. He lived in a 
house by himself and had his slaves quartered in different settlements 
on his lands. One day in November, 1864, Wm. Shelby, Esq., 
receiving information that a party from Indiana intended that night to 
visit Winfrey's for the purpose of running off his negro men, conveyed 
to him immediately what he had heard. Mr. Winfrey prepared 
himself to meet them, and for that purpose, with one or more of 
his men, guarded the river bank until a late hour in the night. Be- 
coming sleepy and thinking the thieves would not cross over, he 
returned to his house and was soon soundly asleep. He had taken 
the precaution during the day to send around and notify his men, and 
as a greater precaution had them all come to his house that night for 
protection. 

A short while after retiring the thieves came and were headed by 
a man who had prior to that time overseed for John B. Davis, of this 
county. This man knew Mr. Winfrey and knew his fearless character. 
The thieves were all armed, but approached the house cautiously. 
They soon found that the negroes could not be driven off without 
disturbing their master, so the leader concluded to go near his room 
and call him. He approached his room, called him from his sleep 
and told him that they had come for his negroes. The old man 
sprang from his bed and ordered them off of his premises. They 
declined going and directed him not to come out of his room. He 
put on his pants and with his double-barrelled gun came out on to a 
side porch, when the villain who led the party took aim and fired, 
shooting him through and through. At the firing of this gun, the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 401 

whole party ran from the house and were soon in their boats, crossing 
the river without ever having encountered any of the bank patrols. 
Mr, Winfrey lived but a short time after he was shot. He was a very 
wealthy man and many ugly stories were circulated concerning some 
of his relatives and their association with his killing. Charles 
Winfrey was one of the noblest of men. His word was regarded by 
all his neighbors as of equal value with any man's bond. He was a 
kind neighbor and master, and a man of unimpeachable integrity. 
His death cast a gloom over the whole surrounding country and no 
man's death was ever more keenly regretted. Wm. Shelby and N. B. 
Hill rode to Owensboro next day after the shooting to lay the case 
before the military, but that branch of the government service refused 
to take hold of or have anything to do with the matter in any way. 

At the earnest solicitation of some local as well as non-resident 
relatives, Esquire John E. McCallister settled the estate and suc- 
ceeded in bringing to light some rascalities which, but for his 
indomitable will and energy, would have remained secrets forever. 

MORE OF THE WAR. 

It was a few miles below Scuffletown, in 1862, where Col. Adam 
Johnson, with Lieut. Col. Bob Martin, planted his black log upon the 
hind wheels of a two-horse wagon and frightened the great town of 
Newburgh with one hundred or more Federal soldiers, and an equal 
number ot home guards, into an unconditional surrender. It was 
here where he, with two men and Martin with seventeen to twenty, 
crossed the Ohio to Newburg, took possession of the town, paroled all 
of the Federal troops and brought back to the Kentucky side hundreds 
of guns and an unknown quantity of munitions of war. At the mouth 
of Green River, in this precinct, was where four or five of his men 
fired upon a Federal transport and forced her to retreat. 

SMITH'S MILLS 

Is the name of a village located at the junction of the Henderson 
and Morganfield and Henderson and Mt. Vernon roads. It is situ- 
ated upon high, rolling land and is one of the prettiest natural loca- 
tions to be found anywhere. The section of country comprising this 
voting precinct was originally as wild as the early pioneer could wish, 
and even very many years anterior to its settlement it was inhabited 
by bear, wild cats, wolves, panthers and endless numbers of deer and 
turkeys. Bear were known in this part of the county as late as 1835. 
In early times this precinct was known as Rowlanson's settlement, 
taking its name from that of William Rowlanson, and several brothers, 

26 



402 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

who were perhaps the first settlers. Among the early settlers were 
Colonel Robert Smith, Captain Lazarus Powell, Stephen Martin and 
Aaron Knight. 

CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 

In very early times there were no schools or churches in this dis- 
trict, and it was only an occasional time when preaching was heard 
or the opportunity was offered children for gaining an insight into the 
primary branches Itinerent preachers and teachers would occa- 
sionally pass through and perhaps locate for a month or more and 
teach a small school. The first church built in the precinct was 
erected upon a lot of ground located on a most beautiful hill, a half 
mile beyond the point or village, by Stephen Martin. This was as 
early as 1825, and the house of worship erected thereon was built of 
brick burned by the surrounding neighbors. The money to complete 
the work was subscribed by the neighbors, and, as an evidence of 
their liberality, a brick church soon stood upon the high hill. A man 
by the name of Drury did the brick work and it was universally ac- 
knowledged to be the roughest ever seen, even up to the time it was 
torn down. This was not the fault of the builder of the house but of 
those who builded the brick. The educational and religious interest 
increased rapidly during the last three or four decades, and now on 
the spot where the rough old brick stood stands a beautiful frame 
church, the property of the Baptist denomination, and within a half 
mile is another, the property of the Methodist denomination. The 
first of these buildings is forty by sixty feet, the second, fifty-five by 
thirty-five. The congregations average from seventy-five to one hun- 
dred and ten members each. 

VOTING PLACES. 

As stated in sketches of other precincts, the people of this pre- 
cinct in early times first voted at Henderson. In 1833 the county 
was divided into three precincts. Walnut Bottom being one of the 
three, and at the house of William B. Cannons the election polls were 
held. Here the people of Smith's Mills voted until 1849, when a 
voting place was established at Colonel Robert Smith's residence, 
about half a mile beyond the present post office. From that time to 
this, although there never was a separate magisterial district, there 
has always been either at Colonel Smith's house, or at the village, a 
voting place for the accommodation of the people of that section. 

HURRICANE. 

In the year 1812, just after the great earthquakes, a most terrific 
hurricane passed across this district, sweeping everything before it. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 403 

It cut a clear swath through the forest varying in width from a half to 
a mile wide. The destruction of timber was terrific, and its tanded 
and matted condition remained for many years. 

In early times; and even up to 1845, Smith's Mills was perhaps 
most noted for its horse racing. It was usually the custom for men to 
gather on Saturday evenings for the purpose of racing and betting, 
and having placed the judge on the hill, near Colonel Elias Powell's 
present residence, would start the horses at the point and run to the 
judges. 

The lands of this precinct are generally rolling, and justly re- 
garded as one of the very best portions of the county. The low, 
level lands are very superior. Heavy crops of wheat, corn and to- 
bacco are grown annually, and some sorghum. Of late years many 
farmers have turned their attention to stock raising and grazing and 
have found the country eminently adapted to that purpose. On 
Highland Creek there is a salt lick, where cattle congregate for the 
purpose of satisfying their briny appetites. 

The oldest living inhabitants are G. B. Martin, B. F. Martin, 
Royal Utley, Elias Powell, Person Latta, Scarlet Latta, Laz Hancock, 
John Higgins, and Esquire James Lilly. 

The farmers of this district, as a general thing, are all thrifty 
and well to do, and have their lands in a good state of cultivation. 
Society has very much improved, and no people are more thought of 
for the many excellent traits which go to make up a fine, hospitable, 
law abiding, moral people, than those who live and have their being 
in this precinct. 

The first post office established in Henderson County, outside 
of the town of Henderson, was located at the residence of Colonel 
Robert Smith, and was maintained at that place until removed to the 
village, or the point, as it is sometimes called. 

Colonel Smith built and operated the first grist mill ever known 
in the Smith's Mills section of the county. His was an old-fashioned 
sweep mill, pulled by horses or oxen, and did the grinding for the 
whole county for years. 

SPOTTSVILLE PRECINCT 

Was established in 1860 a precinct and voting place. As far back as 
1833, before the locks were built, the falls were known as Knight's 
Falls, and there were no buildings on the bank save those owned by 
men engaged in quarrying rock. The first town was located down in 



404 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

what was known in early times as the lower coal banks or Spott's 
Mill. Major Spotts, in 1829, owned most of the land lying on Green 
River, and had made seven coal entries, running into the bank from 
the river. Later, in 1833, Robert Scott, a brother-in-law, sunk a shaft 
for Major Spotts, and then the entries were closed. His object was 
to float coal to New Orleans, but misfortune overtook him and but 
little of his coal reached that market. 

The original name of the now town of Spottsville was " Shanty," 
deriving its name from the shantys occupied by the rock men. It 
was afterwards known as " The Locks." During the year 1850 the 
place was called " Spottsville," Major Spotts' children, Harry, Jim, 
their wives, Mrs. Lydia McBride, and Miss Lydia Scott, giving it that 
name in honor of its founder. Major Sam Spotts, of the United States 
army. 

The magnificent locks built in Green River at Spottsville, by the 
State, were commenced in the fall or winter of 1833. Joseph Bar- 
bour, employed by the State to build the locks and dam, arrived at 
Spottsville during the summer of 1834, and commenced getting out 
rock from the bank between Upper and Lower Spottsville, as now 
known, and Sugar Camp branch. He worked between two and three 
hundred men, and quarried enough rock to build the face work to the 
locks and abutments, which he had piled up on the plain between the 
bluff bank and river. The winter of 1834 was an exceedingly cold 
one, so cold it is said the mice eat up the red peppers, and the rock 
of that quality that would not stand such exposure. Consequently, 
most of it crumbled, or was so materially damaged that it was rejected 
by the engineer in charge of the work. Barbour, therefore, found 
himself broken up and compelled to abandon the contract. In the 
winter, in wedging out the rock, the workmen found a roll of thirteen 
rattlesnakes, and in the center of the roll was a toad^ quietly taking 
his rest. Upon the failure of Barbour, the contract was then awarded 
Captain William Brown, who completed the locks and dams during 
the year 1842. Captain Brown opened a rock quarry at Rock Island, 
Indiana, and boated his material from that point. Mr. James Burnes, 
of Hebardsville, was employed during the time this work was being 
done, as Captain Brown's head blacksmith. During the year 1840, 
Captain Brown's steamboat, " Buck Snatcher," used in towing, while 
coming down from the upper dam, got caught in an eddy at the foot 
of the island, caused by a coffer dam built at the head of the chute, 
and capsized. There were a number of passengers on board, among 
the number, Mrs. Settlemier and seven or eight children and Mrs 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 405 

Captain Brown. Only four of the passengers were saved, three boys 
of Mrs. Settlemier and Mrs. Brown, who floated down the river fully 
a mile clinging to a barrel, until rescued by a fisherman named Peter 
Johnson. It was said that Mrs. Brown's presence of mind was more 
than remarkable. 

Many lives have been lost at the dam. Joe Settlemier and Wil- 
liam Raysner, in endeavoring to save a lot of saw logs, went over the 
dam and were lost two years after the mill was built. Since that time 
Alvan Williams and Joe Smith lost their lives in a similar way. 

In 1844 there was a great barbecue given near Spottsville, dur- 
ing the Clay and Polk campaign, where that great wit, Thomas Towles, 
a disciple of Mr. Clay, made in a speech, his celebrated comparison. 
Said he : " Gentlemen, you might as well compare the noise made 
by the "rack of a porter bottle to the wreck of matter and the crush 
of worlds, as to compare these two men." 

In early times the nearest church or school house was to be found 
eight miles from Spottsville, on Major Posey's land. 

Among the early settlers of Spottsville were Robert Scott, Rob- 
ert Scott, Jr., George Lyne, Samuel Hopkins, Daniel Slayton and 
Jesse Knight. 

THE FOUNDER. 

Major Samuel Spotts was a soldier, and spent but little time on 
his possessions. He entered the army in 1812 as Second Lieutenant, 
Fourteenth Artillery, and served up to 1829. Served with General 
Jackson throughout the Seminole and Creek Indian wars and was 
brevetted at New Orleans. In 1829 he was appointed by General 
Jackson, Major, and during the year appointed x\ssessor of the Port 
of New Orleans. While in New Orleans, and during the summer of 
1833, he died of cholera. During the years 1827 and 1828 he was 
stationed at Fortress Monroe, and while there obtained a furlough and 
came West to look at his lands. He spent several summers on Green 
River with his brother-in-law, Robert Scott. Major Spotts married 
Harriet, a daughter of Dr. Chetherall, U. S. A., Charleston, South 
Carolina. She died June 10th, 1834, and was buried in the Hender- 
son cemetery. 

SPOTTSVILLE 

Is a flourishing town of five or six hundred inhabitants, large coal 
mines, operated by T. Shiver, and doing a large shipping business 
down the river. It has fine school and church advantages, good so- 
ciety, and all other claims necessary to make it a desir^lble locality to 
live in. It has local option, a flourishing lodge of Good Templars, 



406 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and is the home of R. Sidney Eastin, the Worthy Chief of the order 
in Kentucky. 

In 1861, Captain A. C. Bryant organized a company of Home 
Guards in the neighborhood of Spottsville. During the fall of the 
same year, the town was occupied by State troops under Captains 
Holloway and Starling, for the purpose of protecting the locks, it hav- 
ing been reported that Captain Daniel White, of Hopkins County* 
had been directed by General Buckner, of the Confederate army, to 
destroy them. Captain Holloway was relieved by the Thirty-second 
Indiana, United States troops. 

TILLOTSON'S PRECINCT. 

This precinct, since the death of Mr. James Tillotson, was 
known for many years as Cross Plains, and of later years as Niagara. 
The voting place is now known as Niagara. As was the case with all 
other parts of the county in very early times, this particular part was 
largely invested by wolves, panthers, wild cats and such like, deer 
and turkey in abundance. ' 

Educational and church advantages were no better here than 
has been shown to exist in other precincts. It is enough to know 
that few hardy pioneers suffered as great privations as those else- 
where in the countv. 

The people of this precinct first voted, as has been stated in the 
sketch of Robards," thereafter they voted for years at Tillotson's, 
then at Leigs' and then at Cross Plains. The present voting place is 
known as Niagara, but it is the same as Cross Plains. As a general 
thing this precinct, especially that portion between Anthoston and 
Green River, is mostly rolling land, yet of the best quality, producing 
the finest corn and tobacco. A great part of it is heavily timbered, dog- 
wood, poplar, hickory and oak constituting the main growth. The 
farms are generally well improved and the farmers thrifty, energetic 
and well-to-do. It can be safelv a3serted that no better farminc: or 
grazing lands can be found than are to be had in this precinct, the 
Green River portion producing the finest tobacco. 

THE FIRST CHURCH 

Known in this section of the country was a small log affair called 
" Shiloh." It was located near George Eakin's farm, was a Union 
church, and primitive schools were taught in it. Subsequent to that a 
Union church was built where Pleasant Valley Church now stands. 
In this church as well as Shiloh, schools were taught. Old Shiloh was 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 407 

a noted church, and great sermons for those early times, were preached 
in that little log hut dedicated to religion. The present church build- 
ing at Pleasant Valley is a twg-story one, the lower story used for 
church worship, while upstairs the Masons hold their regular meet- 
ings. " Pleasant Valley " Lodge is composed of many of the best 
men of the precinct, and very many of its members are active 
workers in the order. This church is also a Union church. There 
is at the present time but one village in the precinct and that is the 
voting place known as Niagara. , 

At one time Ranger's Landing was a place of considerable im- 
portance, but it has lost its identity. Ranger's Landing is located 
upon Green River and was named in honor of Morris Ranger, of 
New York, the great cotton and tobacco king, who during the war 
caused to be built at this point a large, substantial and commodious fac- 
tory for handling tobacco. For several years he carried on an im- 
mense business and really was a king in that territory. The factory 
is yet standing but in dreadful repair. Niagara is well located and is 
a thrifty little village. 

J. W. Porter is the owner and operator of a large two-story tobacco 
stemmery, a house with a capacity of handling from three to four 
hundred hogsheads annually. He is a large, yet prudent and success- 
ful buyer. 

Close to Niagara is the noted "Martha Brown's" Springs, a 
chalybeate water of fine quality. This old spring, in the times of 
Whigs, Know Nothings and Democrats was a noted gathering place 
for those political clans. The greatest men of the country have 
spoken from its hillside, and thousands of men have shouted them- 
selves hoarse. The eloquence of Govs, Dixon, Powell, Kinney, 
Vance, Crockett, Hughes, Dallam and others have made the welkin 
ring. Those were good old t?lnes, the days of James Tillotson 
and others like him ; nothing of the kind has been witnessed since the 
war. 

A postoffice was established at Niagara in 1882, prior to that 
time it was through the kindness of Mr. J. W. Porter that the people 
received their letters and papers. Mr. Porter has been postmaster 
for a number of years. 

There is a district school taught at Niagara attended by a very 
rcbpectable number of pupils. Of late years a very handsome Union 
church has been erected. The business of Niagara, in addition to 
Porter's tobacco interest, consists of a grocery and general merchan* 



408 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

dise store owned by J. W. Porter, a drug, grocery and dry goods store, 
owned by Dr. J. M. Willingham, a blacksmith and wood working 
shop, by the Biggs Brothers, and a boot and shoe shop by Frank 
Bush. 

Local option was voted several years since and a drink of liquor 
can't be had. 

Among the oldest inhabitants now living are : Sam'l E. King, 
John Dorris, E. C. Craig, C. C. Eades, John R. Knight, Robert Til- 
Idtson, Radford Dunn, Bradley Towler and George Triplett. 



i 



EDUCATIONAL. 



THE SCHOOLS OF HENDERSON COUNTY FROM THE 
BEGINNING TO THE PRESENT. 

TT is a traditionary fact that among the earliest settlers of Hen- 
^ derson County there were many men of ordinary education and 
considerable property, while there were many others lacking in the 
primary branches and very poor. As in most counties the majority 
excelled in intelligence the average population from which they had 
immigrated. 

When, perhaps, as many as a dozen families had located upon a sec- 
tion of land from ten to fifteen miles square, there was an effort made 
to establish a school. As a unanimous thing a rude unhewn log 
cabin, at one end of which a chimney built of sticks and m?Id was 
erected. These buildings were covered with boards held to their 
places by poles as no nails were to be had. The cabins were never 
known to have windows, and only a small opening called a door. The 
benches or seats used, were made of logs split through the middle, 
and holes bored in the round side in which were driven common split 
sticks, which did the service of legs. In these rude cabins, the pri- 
mitive teacher at a compensation of from fifty cents to one dollar per 
month for each scholar, taught reading, writing, spelling, and a little 
arithmetic. Many of those employed were men of superior intelli- 
gence and thorough teachers. Books were few, therefore, those to be 
had were thoroughly taught and as thoroughly studied. The readers 
used m early times, especially the " Old English " and the '*' National " 
were filled with the finest selections to be found in the English 
language. Many men with no advantages beyond those found in the 
pioneer schools, became noted professional and business men. As noth- 
ing beyond what has been mentioned was taught in these early schools, 



410 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the teachers would go from one neighborhood to another and teach 
grammar for a term of five or six weeks. Writing and geography 
was also taught by these primitive teachers. Thus the children were 
offered an opportunity for acquiring a moderate education and very 
many of them embraced this opportunity, yet the majority of settlers 
enjoyed but poor facilities for obtaining this blessing. The thinly 
settled condition of the county and the extreme distance necessary to 
be traveled, in many instances offered an insurmountable obstacle. 
The woods were wild, no roads, and the dangers attending the daily 
walk, necessarily kept most persons from sending their little ones so 
far from home, consequently they grew up in ignorance. Nor was 
this all, money was very scarce and a large number of the inhabitants 
at that time found it impossible to raise the small sum charged by the 
teacher. As the county grew in population and wealth, there was a 
gradual improvement, but to this day, in many parts of the county> 
the people are nearly as far behind in educational matters as they 
were in primitive days. Some of the county school buildings at this 
day are yet the poorest cabins and not worth perhaps as much as fifty 
dollars. Of late years however there has been great improvement in 
the buildings. 

Our system of common schools dates back to 1822. It was not 
however, until the act of Congress, approved June 23d, 1836, that any 
practical results were attained. During this year Congress appor- 
tioned about fifteen millions of dollars of surplus money in the 
treasury to the several older States in the form of a loan, of which 
Kentucky's share was $1,433,757. Though no provision of the law 
imposed on the State the obligation to devote this fund exclusively to 
purposes of education, yet it was asked on this plea and granted with 
this expectancy. Yet by act of February 23d, 1837, $l,nOO,000 only 
of the fund was set apart as the financial basis of our educational 
system, and by an act of February 16th, 1868, this amount was 
actually reduced to $850,000. This, then, is the origin and principal 
resource of our permanently invested school fund, from the interest 
of which, for many years, we derived our only public school revenues 
and from which a portion of our annual school revenues are now 
derived. 

In 1838 the first school law was enacted for the establishment of 
common schools in Kentucky. An act was passed in 1847-8 providing 
for the submission of a proposition to a vote of the people to levy a 
tax of two cents on the one hundred dollars to increase the revenue 
for common school purposes. The people ratified this proposition by 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 411 

a large majority. Beginning with the fall of 1849, the convention for 
forming a new constitution was held. It was then by the eleventh 
article, the school funds, for which the State had executed her bonds 
to the State Board of -Education, were forever dedicated to common 
school purposes. In 1855 the people, by a large majority, ratified the 
proposition to increase the ad vaIore?n tax from two cents to five cents 
on the one hundred dollars. But little organic change was made in 
the school svstem until after the close of the civil war. At the August 
election, 1869, a proposition to increase the tax to fifteen cents was 
submitted and ratified by a large majority. Under this law, the 
aggregate amount of schooling was more than doubled and the quality 
of education greatly improved. Better teachers were employed and 
salaries of teachers prior to that time, fixed at from twelve to thirty 
dollars per month for three months, were raised to thirty and forty- 
five dollars per month for five months. 

The Legislature in 1822 passed an act establishing school 
districts in the several counties of the State, and agreeably to that act, 
the County Court of Henderson County did, in the same year, pro- 
ceed to lay off Henderson County into twelve districts. In 1839, on 
application of Col. Robert Smith, James S. Priest and Willie Sugg, 
Common School Commissioners for Henderson County, it was 
ordered by the County Court that the surveyor of the county lav off 
and divide the county into convenient school districts. In 1842, 
March 1st, the Legislature gave to the School Commissioners, or a 
majority of them, the power to district their county or to allow or 
modify the same as circumstances might require, without making 
application to the County Court, also authorizing the commissioners, 
or any one of them, co hold elections in any of the districts without 
any order from the County Court. Also power to appoint three 
examiners, who should be professional teachers, at or near the town 
of Henderson, whose duty it was to examine and give certificates to 
teachers. This act further stipulated that in case any district failed 
or neglected to levy a tax for the support of a common school, the 
citizens legally entitled to vote therein or a majority of them, might 
proceed to raise by subscription or otherwise, any sum of money for 
the support of a school, not less than enough to support a school for 
three months in each year, and upon this fact being certified to the 
School Commissioner by the Trustees of such district, they should then 
be entitled to their just proportion of the money allowed for the 
support of common schools. Under this law the schools of the county 
were conducted. The funds necessary to the successful carrying on 



412 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

of the District Schools was small and as a necessary consequence the 
schools were poor indeed. 

As before stated, in 1848 a proposition was submitted to the 
qualified voters as to the expediency of creating a tax of two cents on 
the one hundred dollars for common school purposes. It was supposed 
that there would be no objection to such an insignificant tax, yet 
Henderson County gave a majority vote of twenty-one against the 
proposition. It carried, however, in the State and proved in the 
end a blessing compared to what had been. Yet this sum was found 
in a short time afterwards to be too small for the purpose at hand, 
and in 1855 another proposition to increase the tax to five cents on 
the one hundred dollars was submitted to the qualified voters, and 
strange to say, was carried by a large majority, the county vote being 
for 1,011 against 398, a majority of 613. This tax, though small, yet 
had a most favorable effect for good. The county was again redis- 
tricted. Prior to the war there were many excellent schools in the town 
and county and there were but few unable to give their children an 
opportunity for getting a plain English education, but subsequent to 
the war this condition ot things changed very materially. The number 
of poor people was greatly increased, very many of them unable to 
pay tuition at all. This increase of poor people was due in a great 
measure to immigration into the county of persons from other States. 

Had there been no public schools, the condition of the children 
would have been deplorable indeed. In 1869 an act to increase the 
school tax to twenty cents on the one hundred dollars was submitted 
to the qualified voters, and stranger than in the second instance, the 
proposition was badly defeated in this county. The city and Spotts- 
ville, praised be their names, did nobly by voting handsome majorities 
for the tax ; however, the tax carried by a large majority in the 
State, and the act of the Legislature became a law. Since that 
time the public or common school system in this county has becr;me 
respectable and has been the source of immense good to the youth of 
the county. 

From 1850 to 18'/ 2, Rev. John McCullough held the ofiice of 
Common School Commissioner, and worked indefatigably in the in- 
terest of educating the young. He was extremely popular with the 
children, and was, perhaps, the best known man in the county. Dr. 

H, H. Farmer, a man of superior qualifications, succeeded Mr. Mc- 
Cullough, and served in that capacity from 1872 to 1880. Mr. Ezra 
C. Ward was appointed to succeed Dr. Farmer. He served four 
years and was succeeded by A. L. Smith. In 1866 William Hatchitt 
was elected and is yet Commissioner. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 413 

Commissioners prior to 1850 were Thomas Towles, A. H. Bailey, 
Colonel Robert Smith, Willie Sugg and James S. Priest. 

THE OLB. SEMINARY. 

This was the first school of any note in Henderson County. On 
the 10th of February, 1798, an act of the Legislature was approved, 
donating and setting a part of the public lands of the Commonwealth 
of Kentucky, 6,000 acres each, for the benefit of certain academies 
and seminaries of learning. A similar act was approved February 
11th, 1809, eleven years afterwards, embracing like provisions and 
extending therein to Henderson and other counties. The following 
is a copy of section one of the act of 1809 : 

'*Be it enacted hy the General Assembly, That the Justices of the County 
Courts of Henderson, Caldwell and Hopkins Counties are hereby authorized 
to procure to be located, surveyed and patented, 6,ooo acres of any vacant 
and unappropriated land in the Commonwealth for the use of Seminaries of 
learning within their respective counties, except the lands to which the Indian 
title is extinguished by the treaty of Tellico, and the lands lying west of the 
dividing ridge between the waters of Cumberland and Tennessee." 

Under the terms of this act no person was to be permitted to 
settle upon any of this reservation after the expiration of one month's 
time from the passage of this act. 

From absolute negligence, or else some other palliating reason, 
the Justices of Henderson County failed to locate, have surveyed 
and patented, the six thousand acres of land offered them by the 
State. Subsequent to this act, to-wit : on the thirty-first day of De- 
cember, 1813, another act was passed establishing an Academy in the 
town of Henderson, to be known as the " Henderson Academy." 
Section two of this act constituted Adam Rankin, Joseph Fuquay, 
Daniel McBride, William R. Brown, James Hillyer, Richard Hender- 
son and Wyatt H. Ingram a body politic and corporate to be known 
by the name of the " Trustees of the Henderson Academy.'' They 
were given perpetual succession and all the powers and privileges 
enjoyed by the Trustees of any Academy or Seminary of learning in 
the State. They were authorized in their corporate capacity to pur- 
chase or receive by donation any lands, tenements, hereditaments, 
moneys, goods, rents and chattels, and to hold the same by the name 
aforesaid, to them and their successors forever, for the use and benefit 
of the said Academy, and to sell the same if deemed proper and ap- 
ply the proceeds to the use and benefit thereof. 

On the sixth day of June, 1814, in accordance with the act. Dr. 
Adam Rankin, first named trustee, called a meeting of the Trustees, 



414 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and the following were present : Adam Rankin, Joseph Fuquay, 
Daniel McBride, James Hillyer, Wyatt Ingram and Richard Hender- 
son. These trustees met at the house of Joseph Fuquay and seve- 
rally took the oath of office as prescribed by the act. Dr. Adam Ran- 
kin was unanimously elected President of the Board and Richard 
Henderson, Clerk. 

On the fourteenth day of June, 1814, it was ordered by the Board 
that Rev. Daniel Comfort be appointed a tutor to take charge of the 
pupils of the Academy for the space of six months, under the direc- 
tion of the Board, and that he be paid for that time the sum of two 
hundred and fifty dollars. The price of tuition was fixed as follows : 
For the learned languages and sciences, $20.00 per annum , reading, 
writing, arithmetic and English grammar, $15.00; reading, writing 
and spelling, $10.00, and an additional charge of two dollars was 
made against each student to defray the expense of house rent and 
fuel. 

The Board then rented of Mrs. Catharine Brent the old log house 
known for years as " Blackberry Hall," and the lot upon which it stood, 
and the garden lot, all for the sum of sixty dollars for one year. Old 
" Blackberry Hall," it will be remembered, stood on the corner of 
Ehii and Third cross streets, now handsomely improved. It was 
called Blackberry from the great number of berries growing around it. 

On the third day of August, 1814, Richard Henderson died and 
his place was filled by the election of Walter Alves. Dr. Adam Ran- 
kin and William R. Bowen contracted with the Board to furnish wood 
to the Academy during the winter at one dollar per cord. 

January 31st, 1815, an act of the Legislature was passed in 
creasing the number of trustees to seven, and at a meeting of the 
Board pursuant to the act the following were elected : John Hollo- 
way, General Samuel Hopkins, Obadiah Smith, Samuel Woodson, 
Samuel Casey and James M. Hamilton. Rev. James McGready, the 
great revivalist of 1800, was unanimously elected a member of the 
Board. 

Lands had been located under the act in Hopkins County and a 
school house had been built on the Seminary ground in the town of 
Henderson. All things were now working as the trustees wanted. 
At a meeting of the Board, May 17th, 1815, the finance committee 
were instructed to report the best mode of increasing, and the pro- 
priety of selling, the Seminary lands. A committee was then ap- 
pointed to have seats and desks built for the accommodation of the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 415 

pupils. The school had so grown that it was found necessary to em- 
ploy an usher or under teacher, and for this purpose Rev. Daniel 
Comfort was allowed $250, including board and tuition, for the pur- 
pose of employing . an usher or under teacher. The rules for the 
government of the school were very strict. Rule No. 7 was as fol- 
lows : 

" Reverence and obedience to teachers are the first duties of all students. 
A strict observance of decency and politeness in their deportment toward 
each other, as well as toward all other persons. Every species ot gaining, 
drunkenness, frequenting disorderly or immoral houses, keeping bad company, 
being found in unlawful assemblages, profane swearing, or bad or immoral 
conduct of any and every kind, is strictly and absolutely forbidden." 

There were a great number of pupils, and it seems that the ma- 
jority of them were credit pupils. Certain it was the Board, in the 
latter part of 1815, found itself in debt, and not only in debt, but in- 
volved in a serious unpleasantness with the principal, Rev. Daniel 
Comfort. 

The tuition accounts were placed in the hands of the Sheriff for 
collection, and for the time being the Trustees had to individually pay 
off the then outstanding debts. On the 29th day of March, 1816, 
the Board discharged Mr. Comfort and directed the President, Dr. 
Rankin, to employ counsel and immediately institute suit against him 
for a breach of the contract entered into on July 10th, 1815. James 
M. Hamilton, Clerk of the Board, made the following laconic note at 
the close of this meeting : "The end of Daniel Comfort's reign in 
Henderson Academy." 

From the very beginning it appears that the Board and Rev. 
Daniel Comfort failed to get along as smoothly as the necessity of 
the case demanded, and, as a necessary consequence, the influence 
of the school was impaired. Trustees became dissatisfied and re- 
signed one after another, and eventually, as we shall see, the school, 
as an institute of learning, ceased to exist. There can be no doubt 
entertained of the great good brought to society, and the community 
at large, in the work of the trustees, and really, through their untir- 
ing labors and liberality, a good school was established and taught 
for many years. There was an outside trouble existing between the 
Board and Mr. Comfort, of which the records hint, but furnish no 
explanatory satisfaction. 

On the third day of September, 1817, Elisha N. Plumb, of Phil- 
adelphia, was employed at a salary of $600 to take charge of the 
the Academy. 



416 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The Trustees were getting deeper and deeper in debt every day, 
and how to remedy matters was a question difficult of solution. Elisha 
N. Plumb had arrived from Philadelphia and his traveling expenses 
amounted to $59.93. This amount had to be raised by the Trustees, 
and so it was all along the line. It wa» proposed to sell the Academy 
grounds. Then, again, the Legislature was asked to pass a law au- 
thorizing the Trustees to raise a sum not exceeding $3,000 by lottery. 
This the Legislature did, but the lottery never materialized. Francis 
E. Walker, Robert Speed, James Wilson and Robert B. Streshly were 
appointed to superintend the lottery, but from some unknown cause 
the scheme was abandoned. Robert Terry preferred charges against 
Mr. Plumb for expelling a scholar without authority, and again for 
immoderate correction. The Board adjudged Mr. Plumb guilty, and 
directed that only switches should be used in correcting scholars. 

On the first day of March Mr. Plumb vacated and on May 14th 
Rev. D. C. Banks took charge as principal of the Academy, 
and the number of pupils limited to forty. Payments had become 
more prompt and the number of pupils increased. It was now de- 
termined to employ an assistant to Mr." Banks, and on the twentieth 
day of April, 1822, a contract was entered into with Mr. Banks, as 
principal, and Miss C. Selliman, as assistant, at and for the sum of 
$1,200, with the understanding that Miss Selliman would take charge 
of the female pupils in a separate room, under the general superin- 
tendence of the Trustees and the principal. It was then ordered that 
the price per session for female pupils be fixed at eight dollars and 
the number limited to twenty. 

Rev. Banks taught up to January 1st, 1823, when Rev. Henry 
Gratton was employed as principal. Mr. Gratton's health failed him, 
and on the sixth day of February, 1820, he resigned. Thereupon a 
contract was effected with Captain Francis E. Walker, with a curious 
proviso. It was resolved by the Board that in place of the usual va- 
cations allowed by the rules that Captain Walker (who was a lawyer) 
be permitted to take the time required by the sessions of the several 
courts beyond the usual vacations. It was then ordered that sixteen 
weeks' tuition should be considered as completing a session of the 
school. Prior to February 27th, 1824, the Seminary building had 
been used by any religious denomination desiring to hold services. 
Upon one occasion, it is said that the door of the building was unin- 
tentionally locked again'st a certain congregation which had assembled 
for worship. Captain Daniel McBride, a Christian man and at one 
time a trustee, seeing this, applied the heel of his unqualified brogan, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 417 

and without the use q^ magical words, bolts, hasps and fastenings 
flew in every direction. The parson at the head of his flock immedi- 
ately entered, and in a few moments was feeding his lambs upon such 
spiritual food as he was able to^'command from his limited acquaint- 
ance with the holy book. Without pretending to know positively, it 
may be inferred, however, that from this proceeding emanated the 
following : 

'' Resolved y That after the first of April next, religious societies of any 
kind be prohibited from holding their meetings in the Academy without the 
consent of the Board of Trustees. 

''That Captain Smith, Captain F. E. Walker, James Alves and Robert 
Speed be appointed a committee to have the door of the Seminary thoroughly 
repaired, a good lock put on it, and such other repairs made as to them may 
seem necessary and practicable." 

Captain Walker gave up the school at the end of his first year 
and from that time there was never another teacher employed by the 
Trustees. August 21st, 1824, Rev. Azra Lee was granted the use of 
the Academy for a short time. February 19th, 1825, the Board 
turned over to James Hillyerthe globes and tables in part payment of 
a debt due him. A committee was then appointed to settle all out- 
standing claims against the Board. 

On the twenty-fifth of February, 1826, the Academy was let free 
for one year to George Gayle, provided he would organize a school. 
Mr. Gayle taught for three years, when the building was let to a Mr. 
Endicott On the twenty-second day of October, 1838, Edmund L. 
Starling, William Rankin, Daniel H. Deacon, Wyatt H. Ingram, John 
G. Holloway and Thos. Towles, Jr., were appointed Trustees. A 
number of land warrants, calling for hundreds of acres of land had 
been located in Hopkins County and no attention whatever had been 
given this liberal donation from the State. The new Trustees above 
named, took the matter in hand and appointed Thomas Towles, Jr., 
a committee to make provisional arrangement with Ambrose G. Gor- 
don to preserve the lands belonging to the Seminary and lying in 
Hopkins County. 

On the twenty-fifth day of February, 1839, Robert Speed was ap- 
pointed to superintend the Seminary lands, with authority to sell at the 
best price, taking care to sell in such quantities and such shape as 
would leave no refuse lands, and at the same time bring the best 
price. On the twentieth day of November, 1839, Ambrose G. Gor- 
don was appointed in place of Speed with the same instructions. 

27 



418 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

July 18th, 1840, John McCullagh was permitted to take possession 
of the Seminary building as the tenant of the Board. He occupied 
it for three years. July 12th, 1843, the Board took possession of the 
building and directed a committee to examine the same and report 
any necessary repairs, and to devise a plan for the reorganization of 
the Academy. Edmund H. Hopkins, from the committee reported a 
plan which was tabled by a large majority and that was the last of 
the Academy. 

From June, 1814, to July, 1843, the Trustees, without the hope 
of pecuniary fee, managed this property, keeping a good school and fre- 
quently paying out of their own pockets amounts necessary to keep it 
from surrendering to the inevitable fate of all institutions without money. 
A large majority of our oldest citizens were educated at the old 
Seminary, and very many yet considered young men learned the 
primary branches in that school. 

A debt of gratitude is due to those old men, who toiled and self- 
sacrificed for the good of the youths of the town and surrounding 
country, which can never be paid, for they ha^^e gone never to return. 
No school was taught after the reign of Mr. McCullagh, at least so 
far as the Trustees were concerned. The record of the school was a 
high one, and perhaps no institution was ever better managed or 
more closely guarded in all of its important points. 

On the eleventh day of June, 1853, the Trustees leased the Sem- 
inary lot to D. R. Burbank for $15 per annum. June 10th, 1854, the 
power of attorney given Ambrose Gordon, of Hopkins County, was 
revoked and Henry J. Eastin appointed agent of the Board, with 
power to investigate the landed interest, but more especially the coal 
interest in Hopkins County, and to settle with Mr. Gordon for lands 
sold by him. From this time on to 1868 the Board of Trustees were 
as vigilant as possible, yet with all their watchfulness land sharks 
and timber thieves continued to annoy them. A large number of 
acres had been sold, and in many instances to worthless parties. Suits 
had to be instituted and the lands reclaimed. The expense of this 
litigation and the expense of an agent and surveyor continually 
watching squatters and unscrupulous settlers, was necessarily heavy, 
and not until after the war were the lands considered valuable. 

On the tenth of April, 1868, William Rankin, former Treasurer 
of the Board, tendered his report of moneys and notes on hand. The 
following is a copy : 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 419 



Cash on hand ^ 259^33 

Note on John O. Cheaney, principal ' <j37 20 

Note on Lsham Cottingham, Commissioner Henderson County, 

,, Principal ^ ' 74500 

Note on F. E. Walker, principal 2 380 00 

Note on Barnard & Jenkins, principal 1 '200 00 

'^°^^^ $4,721 53 

Mr. Rankin was succeeded in 1868 by Hon. Henry F. Turner, 
and on the twenty-first day of January, 1871, he, as Treasurer, tend- 
ered the following report : 

Balance in money in his hands $2 932 78 

J. O Cheany, one note dated May 11th, 1864 500 00 

Same, one note dated March 13th, 1865 637 20 

N. H. Barnard & Co., one note dated December 14th, 1866 1,200 00 

^^^^^ $5,269 98 

On the fifteenth day of March, 1869, the Henderson High School 
was incorporated, and on the same day an act to organize and estab- 
lish a system of public schools in Henderson was passed. Section 
fifteen of the act, so far as the same refers to the Henderson Aca- 
demy is here given : 

" The Mayor and Common Council of the City of Henderson shall pro- 
vide the funds for building the school houses and paying all expenses of said 
public schools, and for that purpose an act entitled an act to establish an 
' Academy ' in the town of Henderson, in Henderson County, and the several 
acts amendatory thereof be and they are hereby repealed, and that all the 
property, money, rights and credits of the said Henderson Academy be and 
they are hereby vested in the Board of Trustees created by this act, and the 
said Board of Trustees are authorized to sell and convey all the real estate and 
interest therein thus transferred to them and apply the proceeds thereof, and 
also any money or credits now held by said academy or belonging to it. and 
any money otherwise provided by this act to the erection of school houses in 
the City of Henderson." 

In obedience to this act, on the twenty-first day of January, 1871 
the Treasurer was directed to pay over to the Trustees of the Henderson 
High School all of the money and notes held by him as Treasurer of 
the Academy. 

The Trustees of the Henderson Public Schools, proceeding under 
this act, were prompt in demanding of the Trustees of the Henderson 
Seminary the funds and lands held by them. The demand was as 
promptly rejected. Suit was then instituted for the property, and in 
the due course of time, after much litigation, the same was compro- 
mised to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. Since that time 



420 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

the property has been controlled by the Board of Trustees of the 
Henderson High School, composed of the Trustees of the Henderson 
Public Schools and three members appointed by the County Court. 

Of late years all of the Hopkins lands have been sold, and 
recently the lot on the corner of Fourth and Elm Streets in the city, 
was disposed of at a good round sum. The fund now in the hands of 
R. E. Cook, Treasurer of the High School Board, amounts to twenty- 
two thousand and five hundred dollars. Nineteen thousand invested 
in bonds and three thousand five hundred held in notes of the Ohio 
Valley Railway Company. Thus it will be seen that after a period of 
nearly seventy-five years of vexation of spirit, the original trustees 
and their successors in office have succeeded in saving a handsome 
school fund, which land pirates and other genteel robbers spent years 
in trying to get their iron grasp upon. As it is, many hundred acres 
of land were lost, but to the fidelity of the old trustees all honor is due 
for securing what is left. 

OFFICERS OF THE OLD SEMINARY AND PRESENT HIGH 
SCHOOL FROM 1814 TO 1883. 

PRESIDENTS. 

Adam Rankin, 1814 to 1817 ; James Hillyer, 1817 to 1831 ; Thos. 
Towles, 1831 to 1853; William Rankin, 1853 to 1868; John G. 
Holloway, 1868 to 1871 ; John S. McCormick, 1871. 

SECRETARIES OF THE BOARD. 

Richard Henderson, 1814 to 1815 ; James Hillyer, 1815 to 1817 ; 
Edmund H. Hopkins, 1829 to 1839, 1853 to 1857 ; Thomas Towles, 
Jr., 1839 to 1853 ; James B. Lyne, 1857 to 1866 ; L. W. Trafton, 1866 
to 1871. 

TREASURERS. 

Daniel McBride, 1814 ; W. R. Bowen, 1815 ; Jas. Wilson, 1817 
to 1819; Jas. Hillyer, 1820 to 1825; Robert Speed, 1825 to 1829; 
George Gayle, 1829 to 1839; F. E. Walker, 1839 to 1843 ; William 
Rankin, 1843 to 1855; Owen Glass, 1855 ; William Rankin, 1855 to 
1869; Adam Rankin, 1869 to 1870; H. F. Turner, 1870 to 1871. 

TRUSTEES. 

Adam Rankin, 1814, '15, '16, '17; Joseph Fuquay, 1814, '15 ; 
Daniel McBride, 1814, '15; William R. Bowen, 1814, '15; James 
Hillyer, 1814 to 1831, inclusive; Richard Henderson 1814; Wyatt 
H. Ingram, 1814 to 1845, inclusive; Walter Alves, 1814 to 1820, 
inclusive; John Holloway, 1815 to 1824, inclusive; Gen. Sam'l 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 421 

Hopkins, 1815, '16, '17; Obediah Smith, 1815 to 1826, inclusive ; 
Sam'l Woodson, 1815, '16, '17 ; Samuel Casey, 1815, '16, '17; James 
M. Hamilton, 1815, '16, '17, '4.8, '19, '20 ; Rev. James McGready, 
1815 ; Edmund Hopkins, 1815, 16 ; Thomas Towles, 1815 to 1843, 
inclusive; Captain John Posey, 1815, '16; Fayette Posey, 1815, '16; 
Captain Philip Barbour, 1815, '16, '17, '18; James Wilson, 1817, '18, 
'19, '20, '21 ; James Bell, 1817 to 1829, inclusive ; Robert Terry, 1817 
1829, inclusive; Francis E. Walker, 1817 to 1840, inclusive; Robert 
B. Streshly, 1817 to 1833, inclusive; Robert B. Speed, 1817 to 1829, 
inclusive; J^ficholas Horseley, 1817 to 1829, inclusive; James Alves, 
1820 to 1853, inclusive ; Levi Jones, 1820 to 1831, inclusive ; Joseph 
Cowen, 1820 to 1838, inclusive ; George Lyne, 1821 to 1826, inclusive ; 
George Gayle, 1829 to 1843, inclusive ; Owen Glass, 1829 to 1858, 
inclusive; Nathaniel F. Ruggles, 1829 to 1839, inclusive; Edmund 
H. Hopkins, 1829 to 1857, inclusive; William Rankin, 1838 to 1868, 
inclusive; Edmund L. Starling, 1838 to 1868, inclusive ; Rev. Daniel 
H. Deacon. 1838 to 1869, inclusive; George Atkinson, 1838 to 1868 ; 
John G. Holloway, 1838 to 1868, Thos. Towles, Jr., 1838 to 1843; 
James B. Lyne, 1857 to 1866; L. W. Trafton, 1866 to 1871; E. L. 
Starling, Jr., 1868, '69; H. F. Turne/, 1868, '69, '70, '71; Adam 
Rankin. 1868, '69, '70; Larkin White, 1868, '69, '70, '71; Jno. S. 
McCormick, 1868, '69, '70, '71 ; P. H. Lockett, 1868, '69, '70, '71 , 
Ben. Talbott, 1868. '69, '70, '71 ; N. B. Hill, 1870, '71. 

HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL. 

Thus it will be seen that out of the old Henderson Academy 
came the present high school, and that the property originally held by 
the Trustees of the old academy is now held by the high school 
board. On the fifteenth day of March, 1869, the high school was 
chartered and on the first day of May, 1873, the following named met 
and organized as the Board of Trustees : E. L. Starling, Jr., President ; 
S. B. Vance, G. M. Priest, Dr. P. Thompson, John Reichert, C. 
Bailey, John B. Hart and Jacob F. Mayer, Trustees on behalf of the 
city ; Larkin White, Henry F. Turner and George W. McClure on the 
part of the county. The county is equally interested with the city in 
this school. 

This magnificent institution has proven a great blessing to the 
youth of the city and county. Its educational advantages are of the 
highest order and terms very reasonable. In fact, so much so no 
young man or woman need go without a first-class education. There 
are two competent teachers employed, a principal and assistant, under 
|.he supervision and control of the Superintendent of the public school. 



422 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

THE PUBLIC SCHOOL. 

On the first day of June, 1869, an act was passed, incorporating 
the Henderson Public School, and authorizing by a majority vote of 
the citizens, the issue of fifty thousand dollars of city bonds for the 
purpose of erecting a suitable building for school purposes. As soon 
thereafter as possible, an election was ordered and the act submitted 
to the people for their ratification or rejection. 

The desire on the part of the people for greater and more liberal 
education of the youth had become widespread and almost unanimous, 
consequently the act was ratified by a large majority vote. The 
Council thereupon met and directed the issuing of the city bonds to 
the amount of $50,000, and the following Board of Trustees were 
elected : A. H. Talbott, Jacob Held, L. H. Lyne, J. F. Mayer, James 
F. Clay, Dr. P. Thompson, John B. Hart and P. B. Matthews ; E. L. 
Starling, President ex officio. On the fifteenth day of June, 1869, the 
bonds were issued and were soon after sold at par. On the ninth day 
of July, 1869, the Board purchased of John W. Alves 158x300 feet 
of ground on the corner of Elm and Green Streets, paying him 
therefor the sum of six thousand six hundred dollars cash. A, H. 
Talbott, a member of the Board, was sent to Louisville to investigate 
and secure a plan and specifications for a suitable school building. 
He contracted with A. H. Clark, an architect of prominence, and soon 
thereafter the plan was adopted by the Board and the building com- 
menced. In 1870 the handsome and commodious building now 
standing on the corner of Green and Center Streets was completed, 
and the first school opened in September of that year. , 

This building is a three-story brick with basement. It contains 
fourteen large rooms, with an assembly room of double size. It is 
supplied with the latest and most improved furniture, slate black 
boards, etc. There are thirteen teachers connected with the public 
schools, and two with the high school. The rooms are graded and 
presided over by excellent teachers. The children of the city are 
educated free of charge, while non-resident pupils are taxed a small 
tuition fee. The attendance is large, every room being well filled. 
This school is justly regarded as one of the best of its class in the 
State — a fine education is offered to any and every child who will re- 
ceive it. Prof. Maurice Kirby, now principal of the Louisville Mail 
High School, was elected first Superintendent and Miss Lydia Hamp- 
ton, now principal of the Hampton Female College, Louisville, prin 
cipal of the high school. The corps of teachers employed were mostly 



^ 




PUBLIC SCHOOL. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 423 

trained in the finest schools of the country, and from that beginning 
the school took, and has maintained a high rank among the educa- 
tional institutions of the State. ^^ 

Before another history of Henderson is written, we shall have, 
perhaps, another public school and high school building surpassing 
the splendid structure, now the pride of the city. Prof. Edward 
Clark, the present superintendent, is a gentleman of superior learning, 
a teacher of ability and a man of most excellent executive judgment, 
and very .popular with both teachers and pupils. On the sixth day of 
May, 1878, the Trustees of the German school, then being taught in 
their school building on corner Third and Ingram Streets, donated the 
entire property to the public school and closed their school. 

The following is a list of the Trustees of the Public and High 
Schools from their beginning to the present time : 

TRUSTEES. 

L. H. Lyne, 1869, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79; 
James F. Clay, 1869, 70, 71 ; A. H. Talbott, 1869, 70 ; P. Thomp- 
son, 1869, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75; Jacob F. Mayor, 1869, 70, 71; 
John B. Hart, 1869, 70, 71, 72; P. B. Matthews, 1869, 75; Jacob 
Held, 1869 ; George M. Priest, 1870, 71, 72 ; S. B. Vance, 1870, 
71, 72, 73, 74, 75; E. W Worsham, 1871 ; C. Bailey, 1872, 73 
John Reichart, 1872, 73, 76, 77, 78, '80; Charles Eaves, 1872 ; J 
Henry Powell, 1873; Thomas S. Knight, 1873, 74; Fred. Overton 
1873,78,79; M. Yeaman, 1873, 74, 75, 76; James R. Barrett 
1874,75; C. H. Johnson, 1874; W. J. Marshall, 1874, 75;Jac 
Peter 1875, 76, 77, 78, 79, '83 ; L. C. Dallam, 1876, '77, '78, '79 
David Clark, 1876, 77, '78; B. G. Witt, 1876, 77, '78 ; John J. Reeve 
1876, 77, '78; James L. Lambert, 1877, '81, '82, '84, '85, '86, '87 
A. T. Dudley, 1877; James E. Rankin, 1878, '80; W. B. Woodruff 
1879; James McLaughlin, 1879, '80^ '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86; W 
W. Huston, 1879, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85; Robert Dixon, 1879, '87 
C. G. Henson, 1879, '80, '82, '83, '84; S. A. Young, 1879, '80, '81 
^82, '83 ; S, S. Sizemore, 1879, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87 ; R 
C. Blackwell, 1880, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87 ; J. T. Ruby, 1882 
H. C. Kerr, 1883, '84, '85 ; Jackson McClain, 1884, '85, '86, '87 ; A 
T. Callender, 1885, '86, '87; Moses Heilbomer, 1886; Jas. Beach 
1885, '86; G. E. Barnard, 1887; Archibald Dixon, 1887. 



424 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

HENDERSON FEMALE SEMINARY. 

MISS MARY L. m'CULLAGH, PRINCIPAL. 

Following in the footsteps of her distinguished father, Rev. John 
McCullagh, who taught in Henderson for many years, and to whom a 
majority of the young men of the town, at that time, owe their educa- 
tian, Miss McCullagh conceived the idea, in 1879, of establishing upon 
a permanent basis a first-class female seminary — a seminary from 
which young ladies could be graduated with the highest honor, and 
enter society fully equipped for its severest tests. To this end, there- 
fore, she applied for, and was granted by the Legislature of itentucky, 
on the twenty-seventh day of February, 1880, a charter, liberal in its 
provisions, and confering upon her all the right given any of the col- 
leges of the State. Under this charter Miss McCullagh was recog- 
nized as principal of the seminary, and the following named gentle- 
men appointed directors : Hon. H. F. Turner, James R. Barrett, Dr. 
W. M. Hanna, Colonel A. S. Winstead, Hon. John Young Brown, 
Thomas Soaper, Ben. C. Redford, David Clark and James S Alves. 
With this Board of Directors, composed as it was of the very best 
material to be found in the community, and Miss McCullagh as prin- 
cipal, the seminary could not be expected to prove less than a splen- 
did success, and such it has been from its commencement. The 
school has been largely patronized by the best people of the city, the 
number of pupils last term aggregating in English and the languages 
seventy-six. In vocal and instrumental music fifty-six, and in drawing 
and painting nine. 

Commencing with 1880, Miss McCullagh has graduated annually 
from two to eight young ladies. Her commencement exercises have 
proven of the highest and most interesting order, and her examina- 
tions have given the utmost satisfaction to patrons and friends of the 
seminary. While the intermediate and higher branches are thoroughly 
taught, the primary department is made a special feat«re of the school. 
Music is made an essential feature, and both vocal and instrumental 
instruction is given by the best of teachers. There is no school in 
Kentucky more deserving, and there is no school in the State better 
equipped in its every department for educational work. The school 
building is a large and commodious one, supplied with all of the 
necessary furniture and apparatus necessary to the comfort and pleas- 
ure of the students. One year ago Miss McCullagh transferred the 
principalship of the seminary to Miss S. E. Steele and Prof. J. M. 
Bach, both thoroughly competent and capable of keeping the school 
up to its past high standing. There are eight teachers in the school. 
Miss Steele presides in the department including Latin, mathematics, 
and higher English, Rev. J. M. Phillips, D. D., mental and moral 
philosophy and rhetoric ; Mrs. J. M. Bach, elocution ; Mrs. Fanny P. 
McCullagh, penmanship and preparatory studies ; Madame Fauche 
Scott, French and German ; Prof. J. M. Bach piano, organ and theory ; 
Mrs. Henrietta Stoltz Bach, art of singing, piano, history of music; 
Mrs, M, S. Vigus, art studies, drawing and painting. 



I 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 425 

HOME SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. 

Two years ago this school was organized by Miss Mary Stewart 
Bunch, principal, and in June Jast closed its second annual term. 
During the session of the Legislature of 1876, '77, a most liberal charter 
was granted the Home School for girls. Its diplomas rank with any 
institution of learning in the State, and those desiring to fit themselves 
for teachers will find in its provisions special advantages. The prin- 
cipal, Miss Bunch, is a highly educated lady, and one who has had 
large experience in the art of teaching and training the young. Her 
school is divided into three departments, primary, intermediate and 
collegiate. Every study is taught necessary to the graduating of ac- 
complished and cultured ladies. Miss Bunch is assisted by Miss Ad- 
rienne Blackwell, who has charge of Latin classes, Madame Fauche 
Scott, French and German; Miss Mary L. Withers, instrumental 
music ; Mrs. Mary E. Vigus, the art of drawing, painting, designing, 
decorative and industrial art, wood carving, etc. This school is largely 
patronized, and at its First Annual Commencement held last June, 
graduated four young ladies with the highest honors. 

SCHOOL FOR BOYS. 

At the instance of several parents who were anxious that their 
sons should be thoroughly educated. Prof. J. Lewis Cobb, of Augusta, 
Kentucky, an instructor, not alone of local, but of State, reputation, 
came to Henderson two years ago and established a school upon a 
higher and more satisfactory basis than had ever been the case before. 
He is a thorough diciplinarian and holds his school under most excel- 
lent control. His large experience in teaching fits him eminently 
for the position, and as a matter of fact his compliment of students is 
easily kept up to its fullest number. 

In addition to the schools mentioned, there are several others : 
Miss Sue. S. Towles presides over a flourishing school for the young, 
Mrs. A. T. Lewis rejoices in a large patronage. Miss Lizzie Jones 
will open a school this fall. 

THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL 
Is one of the largest in the city and is in every way a most worthy 
and creditable institution of learning. 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR COLORED CHILDREN. 

On Tuesday, November 21st, 1871, the Common Council of the 
City of Henderson passed the following ordinance : 

"Be it ordained by the Common Council of the City of Henderson, that 
the following named residents of the City of Henderson, Dr. Pinkney Thomp- 
son, H. S. Park, A. F. Parker. Jacob "Held, Jr., and Y. E. Allison, be and 
they are hereby appointed Trustees of the public school for colored children 
in the ^ity of Henderson, established by an act of the General Assembly of 
the Commonwealth of Kentucky, entitled an act to establish a public school 
tor colored children in the City of Henderson, approved March loth, 1S71, 
Said Trustees to hold their office for two years and until their successors are 
qualified." 

On the twenty-seventh of the same month the following named 
persons, being a majority of those named in the above ordinance, to- 



426 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

wit : Jacob Held, Dr. Pinkney Thompson, H. S. Park and Y. E. 
Allison, met at the dwelling house of Jacob Held, in the City of Hen- 
derson, and took the oath required by law and the constitution as 
such Trustees ; which oath was administered by E. L. Starling, 
Mayor of said city. Whereupon they organized by unanimously elect- 
ing Jacob Held President and Y. E. Allison permanent Secretary. 

The Trustees purchased a lot at the corner of First and Alves 
Streets, 75x200 feet, and had erected thereon a frame building with 
two rooms, each 80x30 feet. The school was opened September 2d, 
1872, with Professor Sam'l Harris (white), superintendent and 
teacher, and Mrs. E. P. Thompson (colored), assistant. The latter 
served three months and resigned, after which the Board employed 
Mrs. Mary Letcher who, with Professor Harris, continued in the 
school to the close of the session in 1874, 

After this the Board employed John K. Mason, superintendent 
and teacher, and Martha J. Mason, his wife, assistant, who still oc- 
cupy the positions. Mason and his wife were citizens of Louisville, 
but had for several years been teachers in the Runkie Institute at 
Paducah, Kentucky. 

In 1878 the City Council added another room to the school 
building and another teacher, Miss Virgie D. Harris, a graduate of 
the school, was employed as second assistant. Miss Harris held the 
position to the close of the session June, 1882. 

The Board having made other additions to the building, the ses- 
sion of 1882-83 opened with four teachers, as follows : John K.Mason, 
superintendent and teacher; Mrs. Martha J. Mason, first assistant ; 
Miss Alice D. Moting, second assistant ; William H. Hall, third as- 
sistant. 

This school is governed by the same rules and the same text 
books as are used in the public schools for white children, and its ses- 
sions are of the same length, ten months'. This school has three de 
partments, namely : primary, elementary and intermediate, in the 
latter physiology and book-keeping are taught. The attendance has 
steadily increased from 145 pupils in 1874 to 368 enrolled in 1882, 
an increase of 152.4-73 per cent. 

In addition to the revenues derived from the sources authorized 
by the act of the Legistlaure, approved March 10th, 1871, this school 
receives its pro rata of the State fund for common school purposes, 
which, at $1.30 on each of the 588 persons of school age enrolled in 
1883, amounts to $764.40. 

The average cost of mamtaining this institution is about $1,300 
per annum. This school has proven a blessing to the children of 
colored parents, as it is a credit to those who were instrumental in its 
organization. No bickerings or complaint has marred its peace, and 
at no time has a demand necessary been denied. Many of our best 
people have manifested an interest in its good government and bless- 
ings, and a commendable spirit of liberality has ever guided the 
Council in its protecting care. 



RELIGIOUS. 



CHURCH HISTORY. 

FROM ITS EARLIEST ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE COUNTY. 

/^MONG the earliest settlers of this county were a number of 
J ^ Baptists, who erected perhaps the first house of religious wor- 
ship ever known in the county. In the year 1808,* a church called 
" Grave Creek " was organized, taking its name from a small stream 
which now forms a part of the boundary line between this and Web- 
ster County. The members of this congregation or colony in the 
earliest days lived at a great distance apart, and for many years 
had no house of worship, yet they held their monthly meetings at the 
cabin of some one of its members. Elder John Dorris, a plain 
Christian worker, who lived then in what is now Hopkins County, 
was the first pastor of the church. 

Among the earlier members were the ancestors of many families 
yet residing in Henderson County. There were the Jones, Thomas, 
Hamptons, William and Elijah King, Nathan Walden, Lazarous 
Powell, George Negly, Garrett Willingham and many others whose 
names cannot be recalled. 

There were colored members of this church from the beginning 
and there continued to be such up to the time of freedom, when they 
established separate churches of their own. As an evidence of the 
religious enthusiasm and earnestness which guided the people in 
those days, many members of this church rode along by-paths, 
through thickets and dense forests for more than twenty miles to 
attend their church meetings. Here the general congregation 



428 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

continued, to worship until the year 1815, when a new and better 
church was built upon the spot where the present Grave Creek Church 
stands, retaining the name, although located fifteen miles away from 
that historic stream. 

A few years after the establishment of this church a new body, 
consisting in part of some of its members, organized a church near 
Hebardsville which they named Bethel. 

Most of the Baptist Churches in the county turned to old Grave 
Creek, as the parent stem, recognizing it as the beginning. All of 
the ministers of this denomination in early times, were illiterate, un- 
learned men, but they were enthusiastic, earnest Christian workers, 
and all of one book. They studied their Bibles diligently and were 
untiring in going from place to place preaching the Gospel as they 
understood it, for which they received but scanty remuneration. 

The good these pious old teachers did among the rude and 
uncultured settlers was very apparent, and but for their influence it is 
quite probable the country would have gone back into that wild and 
uncivilized condition in which it was found. Within twenty five years 
from the organization of the first congregation, several new churches 
were formed and the denomination, in its increase, kept step with the 
increase of the population. It had its seasons of revival and decline, 
with nothing remarkable in its history until 1830 and 1834. 

In the early history of this church, the missionary cause was not 
heard of ; neither had Alexander Campbell become famous. About 
'the year 1830 the friends of foreign missions began to urge their 
claims upon the attentions of the Baptists of Western Kentucky, and 
about the same time, many members of the churches had begun to 
adopt the views embraced by Alexander Campbell. The Henderson 
County churches were then profoundly agitated on the missionary 
question and concerning the doctrine taught by Mr. Campbell, and as 
the result of his teaching, the Baptist denomination lost many of its 
members. In 1834 the Anti-Missionary party had a majority in the 
Highland Association, of which body the churches of Henderson County 
formed a part. In consequence of their ill-advised course, four 
churches, of which Grave Creek was one, seceded from the body and 
formed an association among themselves known as " Little Bethel." 
Since that time the Missionary body has greatly increased, while the 
Anti-Missionary have scarcely an existence. 

Among the seceding ministers were William Hatchitt, F. L. Garrett 
and Richard Jones; of Henderson County, and Wm. Morrison, of 
Union County. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 429 

Mr. Hatchitt was the father of Mr. Jas. D. Hatchitt and Rev. A. 
Hatchitt and grandfather of the late Sheriff, Wm. Hatchitt, all 
gentlemen greatly esteemed for their business and social worth. He 
was also for many, years pastor of Grave Creek Church and was 
beloved by his flock and all who knew him for his kindness of heart, 
amiability of character, soundness of mind and inflexible firmness in 
the discharge of his everyday duty. 

There are now in the county nine white Baptist Churches, with a 
membership of more than fifteen hundred. There are also five or six 
colored churches in the county, nearly if not fully equal to the whites 
in point of membership. The General Baptist and Arminian Open 
Communion denomination have one church in the county. 

The Henderson County Association of United Baptists is com- 
posed EXCLUSIVELY of the white churches. 

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The history of this church dates back to the year 1839. It 
originated in a remarkably successful revival meeting conducted by 
Rev. J. L. Burroughs, D. D., now of Norfolk, Va., in the old Union 
Meeting House, which was located in what is now the City Park. 
Before this meeting there were only three or four persons of the Baptist 
faith living in the town, one of whom, the wife of Mr. Jas. W. Clay, 
afterwards became a pillar of the church. She lived to an extremely 
advanced age and was the last of the group of constituent mem- 
bers in the organization of the body that passed away. Soon 
after the meeting referred to, the old house was condemned as unsafe 
and the organization was effected in the home of Mr. Fountain Cun 
ningham. W. H. Cunningham and John C. Cheaney were the first 
deacons of the new organization and Elder N. B. Wiggins was its first 
pastor. 

Of the original members thirty-five in number, none are living 
except Mr. John O. Cheaney, who for a number of years has lived 
with a son in the State of Arkansas. 

Immediately after the organization, an effort was made to build a 
house of worship which resulted in the erection of the first structure, 
located on the corner of Elm and Center Streets. For the first 
decade of its history, the church grew rapidly in numbers and influ- 
ence, and soon became the strongest and most influential body of the 
town. 

Yearly several meetings were held, during which large numbers 
were converted and brought into the fellowship of the church. Elder 



430 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Wiggins' pastorate terminated at the end of three years. The records 
of the church fail to show who his successor was. In the year 1851, Rev. 
John Bryce, of Virginia, was called to the pastorate care of the church, 
and entered on the work. He was a man of distinguished piety, eminent 
ability and varied attainments. He was, when converted, a lawyer, 
and had been Master in Chancery for several years under Chief 
Justice Marshall. After entering the ministry he served as chaplain 
in the U. S. army during the war of 1812. He was appointed by 
President Tyler surveyor of Shreveport, La , and Confidential Agent 
of the Government during pending negotiations for the annexation of 
Texas. During his stay in Louisiana, he organized the Baptist Church 
at Shreveport and succeeded in placing it on a foundation of enduring 
prosperity. His pastorate in Henderson extended through a period o^ 
eleven years, during which time the church was united, peaceful and 
prosperous. He died July 26th, 1864, loved and honored by all, at 
the advanced age of ninety years. 

During the war period Elder J. H. Spencer, A. J. Miller, D. D., 
and R. S. Callahan each served the church in the pastoral relation 
for brief periods. Elder B. T. Taylor followed in the pastorate for 
two years and was succeeded by Rev. Henry Talbird, D. D., who 
continued until March the first, 1872. His ministry was marked by 
that deep devotion to the interests of religion that endears a pastor to 
his people, and the church was greatly strengthened. 

Rev. H. H. D. Straton was called to the pastorate in June, 1872, 
and served the church with great acceptance for two years and a half. 
Elder R. D. Peay was called to the pastoral care of the church April 
14th, 1875, and entered on the work the 25th of that month. His 
administration, though characterized with great pulpit ability and 
much fervency, faithfulness and zeal in pastoral work, was not 
marked by church growth and power, owing to losses occasioned by 
removals and deaths. The church was weaker at the close of his 
pastoral work (May 1st, 1879), than at its beginning, four years 
previous. From this time until June the first, 1882, the church had 
no regular pastoral ministrations. Its pulpit was supplied occasionally 
by Elder R. D. Peay, who continued to reside in the city, and visiting 
ministers to the city. As a result, there was no growth, but rapid 
decline in power and life. 

Elder R. S. Flemming was called to the pastorate June 1st, 1882. 
He continued in this relation for about one year and resigned. During 
the year 1883, the church was without a pastor and its services were 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 431 

irregular and poorly maintained. It steadily declined in numbers 
and ability until it was thought to be unable to sustain a pastor. In 
the early Spring of 1884, the Board of State Missions proffered to 
assist the church, and at the suggestion of the brethren of that Board, 
Rev. J. M. Phillips, D. D., its present efficient pastor, was called to 
its pastoral care. At the time Dr. Phillips assumed charge of this 
church, it had well nigh ceased to exist as a church organization. It 
was seldom opened for worship and the old building was lamentably 
out of repair. It had fallen from the once strongest denomination in 
the town to the weakest in the city, with only a few faithful members 
left to bear testimony to its once great strength. It had become now 
a Mission Church, supported in great part by the State Board of 
Missions. Of course, then, when Dr. Phillips came to its rescue as 
pastor, he recognized at a glance the great work and responsibility 
before him in reorganizing the congregation and bringing it from a 
confused and demoralized state to a church of strength and self-sup- 
porting. He applied himself with a confiding faith and diligence of 
purpose, few men have ever exhibited either in the ecclesiastical or 
secular world. His strong preaching and earnest work soon began to 
speak for itself, and in a short time new life was supplied, and where 
but a short time before all was lifelessness, now there was an activity 
of Christian purpose making itself felt throughout the city. How well 
Dr. Phillips has succeeded can be narrated in a few words. Since 
his arrival, three years ago, there has been raised and expended in 
the improvement of church property over four thousand dollars, and 
about two hundred and fifty persons have been received into the 
church. The total number of members at this time aggregates about 
three hundred and twenty-five, the church building one of the hand- 
somest in the city, the Sunday school a very large one. The church 
is once again self-supporting. During the early Spring of 1887, the 
largest religious revival ever held in Henderson was conducted m this 

church by Revs. Weaver and Hale, of Louisville, assisted by Dr. 
Phillips. For weeks and weeks the building was filled to its utmost 
capacity at night service and over two hundred attached themselves to 
the congregation. 

Among the number of ministers now preaching, who were 
ordained by this church, are : Rev. George F. Pentecost, a preacher 
of world-wide fame, having filled some of the most important pulpits 
in this country and now in charge of one of the largest churches in 
Brooklyn, New York ; the Rev. Wm. Harris, who preaches with great 
acceptance to a large church in St. Louis, Mo., and the Rev. J. H. 
Butler, who is pastor of a very large and important church in Coving- 
ton, Ky. 



432 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ZION BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The Zion Baptist Church was constituted October 15th, 1853, 
Elders John Bryce, William Hatchett and John G. Taylor, officiating. 
The following named persons went into the constitution : Miles H. 
Cooksey, Elizabeth E. Cooksey, Mary C. Cooksey (now Baskett), 
Zepheniah Griffin, John W. Matthews, Francina Griffin, Prudence 
Blackwell, Wm. E. Bennett, Sarah Bennett, Elizabeth Hatchett, 
Charles E. Cooksey, Ann E. Negley, Martha S. Dunn, Nancy Griffin, 
John Matthews, Philip Matthews, James H, Hatchett, Henry H. 
Farmer and Jenny, a colored woman belonging to E. T. Cheatham. 
Total, 19. 

Rev. Isham R. Allan was elected pastor, Wm. E. Bennett and 
Zephenia Griffin elected deacons, and H. H. Farmer elected clerk. 
The third Sabbath in each month and Saturday before were agreed 
upon the regular meeting days of the church. 

H. H. Farmer was dismissed by letter in 1857, P. D. Negley was 
chosen to fill his place as clerk, and he has continued to discharge the 
duties of that office up to the present time. The church was ad- 
mitted to membership in the Little Bethel Association in 1854. 

Elder Allan continued to serve the church as pastor, being called 
every year till 1860, when the church made the call indefinite. In 
1862 Elder J. M. Dawson was chosen as pastor, but declined 
the call, and Elder A. Hacthett was called and accepted. He 
was succeeded by Elder N. Lacy in 1865. Elder J. B* Haynes, fol- 
lowed him in 1867. 

In 1869 the church agreed to have service twice a month and fix 
the pastor's salary at ^400. Before the year closed the pulpit was de- 
clared vacant and Elder A. J. Miller was called in July of the same 
year. At the September meeting Elder Miller requested the church 
to call some one else as his time was all taken up. The church de- 
clined to take action in that direction, and the matter was continued. 
At the October meeting the church invited Elder Miller to preach for 
them at their November meeting, at which time they agreed to call a 
pastor. For some reason he did not accept the invitation, and Rev. 
Dr. H. Talbird preached. 

In January, 1870, Elder Miller was again called and accepted 
and continued to serve the church as pastor till October, 1874, when 
he resigned to move to Missouri. Elder S. F. Thompson was called 
at the same meeting but he did not accept. The church then called 
Elder Miller in June, 1875, but he declined. Elder G. A. Coulson 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 438 

was called in February and accepted. The next year he resigned 
and moved South, and Elder R. D. Peay was called to supply. In 
March, 1877, Elder Miller was^^again called and he accepted. He 
has continued to serve the church in that relation till the present time, 
1882. 

September 17th, 1870, John W. Hicks and B. Tanner were or- 
dained as deacons. Elders A. J. Miller and T. L. Brooks officiating. 
June, 1874, James R. Bennett and William Hatchett were ordained as 
deacons. Elders A. J. Miller and P. H. Lockett, officiating. In No- 
vember, 1882, James H. Moss and E. T. Smith were ordained as 
deacons. Elders A. J. Miller and G. W. Givens, officiating. 

The present Board of Deacons consists of Wm. E. Bennett, John 
W. Hicks, J. R. Bennett, E. T. Smith, P. D. Negley, Wm. Hatchett 

and J. H. Moss. 

» 

The church is located in one of the best communities in the 
county, and has a present membership of 235, among whom are some 
of our most worthy citizens. M. H. Cooksey, Wm. E. Bennett, B. 
Tanner and Hatchett have been active financial agents in the church, 
which responsibility is now borne by E. T. Smith and James H. 
Moss. P. D. Negley, the clerk, has the best kept church record in 
the county. 

The church occupies the handsomest church building in the 
county outside of Henderson, erected in 1867, and the sisters keep 
it nicely furnished. Dr. Miller, their present pastor, says, '* there is 
not a better set of women on the earth than the sisters of Zion Church." 
First and last the church has received into her fellowship 340 mem- 
bers, 247 of that number were received by baptism. The present 
pastor having baptized 141 of that number. The oldest candidate 
for baptism was Nancy Johnson, aged 68 years, the youngest being 
Talbird J . Miller, aged 10 years. 

This church is now under the pastoral care of Rev. Dr. Solomon. 

CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, HEN- 
^ DERSON, KENTUCKY. 

This religious body of people, known as Deciples or Christians, 
had its first beginning in Henderson through the preaching of Elder 
William Brown, in the year 1841. At that time there were but two 
members of the church living in the town, viz: Philip Vanbussum and 
his wife. 

28 



434 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

In 1844, William Steele, a silversmith and a local preacher, 
moved to Henderson. Subsequent to his coming, he and his wife and 
Philip Vanbussum and his wife organized themselves into a congre- 
gation and met for worship on the Lord's day at one of the two 
houses. This little, but intensely earnest congregation, struggled for 
nearly two years, and then from some cause became disorganized. 

In 1854 Elder P. H. Morse visited Henderson and held a suc- 
cessful meeting, baptizing and receiving into the church sixteen ad- 
ditions. The church was then organized with a membership number- 
ing twenty. 

In 1854 the congregation determined to build, if possible, a 
house of worship which they could call their own. They knew their 
weakness, but holding a firm faith in their ultimate triumph they un- 
dertook the preliminary step, so important, that of raising the neces- 
sary funds to carry out the plans of the building. By industry, self- 
denial and almost superhuman efforts upon the part of that good old 
Christian man and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Vanbussum, in the fol- 
lowing year the congregation did worship in a temple they called their 
own. The little house of God was built on the corner of Washing- 
ton and Green Streets, and was dedicated by the lamented John F. 
Johnson, brother of Richard M. Johnson, Vice President of the 
United States, and Elder R. Ricketts. 

While this was not an imposing structure in architectual design, 
it was nevertheless lai^ge enough for a number of years and as com- 
fortable a building as any congregation of Christians could want. 

In 1861, during the sad and terrible war between the States, this 
church building was taken by the Federal authorities and used as a 
military prison and hospital, and during that time the congregation 
became once more disorganized and scattered. After evacuation by 
the soldiery and a reasonable certainty that the war was over, the 
church was renovated, thoroughly cleansed and made suitable for 
holding services in once more. 

In the year 1865, Elder George Plattenburg, a minister of great 
pulpit power, reorganized the congregation, getting together a mem- 
bership of twenty-three. For one or two years the church flourished 
under the ministration of Elder Plattenburg, till his removal to Missouri. 
In 1869 Elder R. C. Flower accepted the pastorate and immediately 
held a very successful protracted meeting, adding to the membership 
thirty-five names. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 435 

During this time the congregation elected Henry C. Kerr and 
Philip Vanbussum elders, David N. Walden, John B. Mallory and 
Orville Collins deacons. For several years Elder Flower continued 
to labor with great zeal, preaching and working in the interest of the 
church. 

In 1876 Elder J. P. Hadley was called to fill the place made va- 
cant by the resignation of Elder Flower. He began a useful and suc- 
cessful ministry, but, when in the zenith of his work, was stricken 
with typhoid fever, from which he soon after died. At the death of 
Elder Hadley, Elder Carter was called by the church, but remained 
only a short time. He was succeeded by Elder L. H. Stine, a young 
minister of great energy, and one who soon made himself beloved by 
all Christian denominations, by his Christian and unpretentious daily 
walk. He remained with the church a little over a year, when he re- 
signed and was succeeded by Elder R. C. Cave, of Hopkinsville. 
Elder Cave, according to agreement, preached twice a month, morn- 
ing and evening. His great personal popularity as a man coupled 
with his brilliant pulpit oratory, attracted large congreg'ations and 
gave to the church a standing it had never before attained. A deep 
interest was awakened in many members, who, prior to that time, had 
become indifferent. They were aroused to the importance of the 
work, and apparently manifested a new and deeper confidence by 
buckling on the Christian's armor and going out into the broad field 
spread before them, laboring earnestly to build up the Master's king- 
dom in this community. Elder Cave preached here only a few 
months, when he was called to the church in Nashville, Tennessee. 

January 1st, 1882, he was succeeded by Elder James C. Creel, of 
Glasgow, Kentucky, a great worker and preacher of power. During 
the ministry of Elder Creel the membership was wonderfully in- 
creased. During that time there were eighty-two accessions and the 
membership numbered 173. After a brief ministry of nearly two 
years he was succeeded by Rev. B. C. Deweese, under whose admin- 
istration the congregation has steadily increased. 

This congregation is now one of the strongest in the city, and 
gradually but surely growing still strongei. During the year 1882, 
this house of worship was greatly enlarged and handsomely improved. 
The building at this time presents a very handsome appearance, in 
fact is regarded by many as the handsomest front exterior in the city. 
It has all the modern appliances and therefore is both comfortably 
and conveniently arranged. 



436 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

During the fall of 1886 Elder Deweese resigned the pastorate 
of the church and was succeeded January 1st, 1887, by Rev. William 
B. Taylor, of Newcastle, Ind., but a native of Kentucky. The con- 
gregation were fortunate in securing so excellent a man and preacher. 
Elder Taylor accompanied Rev. McGarvy, of Lexington, Ky., in his 
travels through the Holy Land. 

The following are the officers of the church : Elders — J. D. 
Robards, J. F. Ruby, Henry C. Kerr, John B. Mallory, Philip Van- 
bussum. Deacons — A. J. Miller, Frank Hart, E. F. Robards, James 
H. Kerr and O. W. Rash. 

THE GERMAN EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 

This church was established in Henderson in the year 1871, 
through the efforts of Rev. C. Kranz, who was at that time Inspector 
of the then nearly erected Pro Seminary of the German Evangelical 
Institute of the West at Evansville. Rev. C. Kranz had charge of 
the congregation for some time, coming down from Evansville by boat, 
and holding services for the congregation regularly every Sunday. 

In the year 1872, when Rev. Kranz removed from Evansville, 
the congregation was for a time without a minister ; subsequent to 
that time Rev. Eppens took charge of the aforesaid institute, which 
was now changed into a college,. Rev. Kranz induced him to take 
charge of the Henderson congregation. Two months after this the 
church elected Mr. Eppens minister, and he removed to this place. 
He retained charge of the church a little over two years, after which 
time he resigned his position and removed to Hermon, Mo. Notwith- 
standing this, the good work of building up the congregation was not 
neglected. A young minister, who had just graduated from the Sem- 
inary of Missouri, and who was just recently ordained for the minis- 
try, was sent to take charge of this little but faithful congregation of 
Christians. 

This divine was the Rev. H. Brenner, who from the beginning- 
won the confidence and esteem of the people and members of his 
church, and the community at large of the City of Henderson. By 
this time the church had become well established, but a house for 
worship had not yet been built. At that time, and indeed from the be- 
ginning, their meetings were held in the so-called Thompson 
Chapel. Dr. Pinkney Thompson and other members were kind 
enough to let the use of the Chapel to this little band of Christian 
soldiers for the term of three years. For such kindness the church 
acknowledges its obligation, and will ever hold them in grateful re- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 437 

membrance. A necessity had now arisen of haying a church building 
which they could call their own; the want of a house for worship owned 
by the congregation was keenlf felt by the members, and a determin^ 
ation to that end was faithfully embraced. It was the ardent wish of 
the members to build right away, but, numerically speaking, they were 
so small the project seemed untenable ; however, in the year 1873, in 
the autumn, a meeting of the members was held, and the erection of 
a church building was proposed and resolved upon, the building to be 
thirty-six by fifty-six feet, but this plan was afterwards abandoned, and 
a resolve made to erect a house of much lar£:er size. 

After the passage of this resolution to build, a committee was ap- 
pointed consisting of the following gentlemen and members : Henry 
Kleymeier, William Brenning and Fred. Juergensmeier, to be known 
as a building committee. These gentlemen, as well as all of the mem- 
bers of the church, showed a lively interest in the building and the 
progress of the church. The building committee carried out the work 
allotted to them with much sacrifice of time, but the Lord well rewarded 
them for all their labor in the good cause, for they have thereby pro- 
moted his kingdom in the City of Henderson. The work of building 
this Christian temple was an arduous one, but in the course of time, 
enough money had been raised to authorize a beginning and the con- 
tract for the house according to the plan and specifications furnished 
was let out. The work was hurried on as quickly as possible and as 
circumstances would admit. To-day this church building, a splendid 
brick, with its tall slender steeple points to Heaven and stands as an 
ornament of God's blessings and man sacrificing, indefatigable labor. 
It is located on the corner of Ingram and First Streets, and is now a 
beautiful home for these God-serving people. 

On the fourteenth day of December,1873, the church was dedicated. 
It was a beautiful clear day, the sun, the great ruler of lights, arose 
that morning in all of his splendor, although during the whole of the 
previous week it had rained continuously. The day was a joyful and 
blessed one for this congregation. There were many guests and 
friends from Evansville, numbering, perhaps, as many as three hundred, 
and at morning service not more than half of those in attendance were 
able to gain admission within its sacred walls. The act of dedicating 
was performed by the pastor of the church, Rev. H. Brenner, assisted 
by Rev. Chris. Schenk, of Evansville, who preached the dedicatory 
sermon, choosing as his text "The Serving Martha." After the morn- 
ing service a sumptuous dinner was served in the City Hall on Main 
Street, American and German ladies serving in the good work of hos- 



438 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

pitality. To this dinner all of the guests from Evansville as well as 
the home congregation were invited. The ladies of the church were 
especially active in preparing the feast, and then in contributing to 
the comfort and enjoyment of all who honored the hall with their 
presence. At the afternoon service, Rev. D. O. Davies, of the Pres- 
byterian Church, this city, preached a sermon in English, and was 

followed by Rev. E. B. , of the Evangelical Zion Church, 

Posey County, Indiana. At the evening service Rev. Chris. Schenk, 
Jr., and the Rev. J. M. Pringle, of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, this 
city, addressed the congregation, the latter in the English language. 
The Rev. Chris. Schenk closed the services of the day in a few well 
chosen remarks gratifying to the congregation. The choir of the 
Zion Church of Evansville, led by Mr. Victor Wattle, and the choir of 
St. Paul Episcopal Church of this city, led by that cultured and pop- 
ular gentleman, Prof. C. F. Artis, served an important part in the 
dedicatory services of the day. 

In the year 1878, the Rev. H. Brenner was called away from the 
good work he had been instrumental in bringing to such a happy actu- 
ality, and accepting a call to the church in Chattanooga, Tennes.^ee. 
Before leaving, however, the Rev. C. Mueller was called to the Hen- 
derson church and installed by him as his successor, and under his 
spiritual guidance the building up of the church was continued. Rev. 
Mr. Mueller remained in charge of the church about two years, when 
he accepted a call to the church in Newport, Kentucky. Once again 
the little, but struggling flock was left without a shepherd. For a 
time the Rev. A. Michel, then residing in Princeton, Indiana, came to 
Henderson, preaching for the congregation once in every two or three 
weeks. After many fruitless efforts of the President of the Second 
District of the Synod, urged by the congregation here, the Rev. C H. 
Viehe, M. D., formerly of Freelandsville, Indiana, was called and ac- 
cepted the pastorate of the church, and was installed on the eighth 
day of May, 1881, by the late Chris. Schenk, of Evansville, Indiana. 
Since his residence and patient labor, assisted by the working laity, 
many improvements have been made to the church property, and a 
large number added to the communicant list. At present about thirty 
families of our German population take a warm active interest in the 
church, and are connected by membership. The attendance at regular 
services are generally large and devout, manifesting a religious zeal, 
which has been a prominent shining characteristic of the church since 
its little beginning, only a few years ago. 

The Sunday School is in a flourishing condition and now num- 
bers fifteen teachers and eighty-five scholars. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 439 

Under the ministration of Dr. Viehe, the church has e^rown and 
is now one of the largest congregations in the city. The Doctor is a mnn 
of comprehertsive views and an actice worker, and so far as our limited 
knowledge extends, greatly beloved by his flock. 

N. B. — Since the foregoing was written Dr. Viehe has resigned 
the pastorate, and is succeeded by Rev. F. W. Adomeit. 

THE METHODIST CHURCH 

Was pioneer in Henderson County. As far back as 1805 the records 
are distinct. In that year there was a small Methodist society found 
in what is now the City of Henderson. They worshiped in a brick 
church, which was situated oh the present vacant lot (Public Square) 
just south of the Court House, and was used as a Union Church. 

The Rev. Thomas Taylor was the first Methodist preacher of 
whom any record can be had as connected with the church in Hen- 
derson. The work was then called Red Bank Circuit. 

The records are missing from this period to 1831 and 1832, when 
the Rev. Abram Long was the preacher in charge in 1833-4 

J. D. Bennett, who is now living, and a member of the Louisville 
Conference, was the pastor in 1835-6. A. L. Alderson was the 
preacher. x\bout this time the name was changed to that of Henderson 
Circuit ; it was in the Paris District Tennessee Conference. Mr. Aider- 
son was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph P. Stanfield in 1837-8. Mr. 
Stanfield was very successful as a revivalist and a large number of 
souls were converted under his ministry. He was followed by the 
Rev. Robert Gardner, and the membership at this time did not exceed 
20 or 30. It was during his pastorate that the first great revival in 
Henderson is to be recorded. It is worthy of remark that while Mr. 
Gardner was the pastor, this revival was the result of the joint labors 
of the sweet-spirited Edwin Roberts and the preacher in charge. 

In 1839 another revival followed of still larger proportions than 
the one in 1838. It was during this meeting that the Rev. W. H. 
Sandefur (" Uncle Billy," as we call him) was connected with the 
church. He is now superannuated, but was for many years an active 
and very useful local preacher. He is still living, but is unable to 
preach on account of age and feebleness. His name stands on the 
Quarterly Conference Journal as a local elder. 

In 1840 we find the Methodists worshiping in a little frame 
church which stood right where the First Colored Baptist Church 
now stands, and was built during this year, and was the result doubt- 
less of the revivals that preceded it. 



440 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Henderson was made a station in 1842, with Richard D, Neale 
as presiding elder and James J. Ferree as preacher in charge. The 
first Quarterly Conference for the Henderson station was held De- 
cember 10th, 1842. It was then in the Hardensburg District, Ken- 
tucky Conference. 

This year the Register shows the following list of official mem- 
bers : Trustees — Thomas Evans, Sr., Wm. B. Rudy, James H. 
Rudy, Daniel Rudy, James C. Hicks, Stephen R. Wilson, Elias Bar- 
nard, Charles T. Sandefur, Jacob N. Miller. 

Stewards — Thomas Evans, Sr., W. B, Rudy, James C. Hicks, 
Dan'l Rudy, Blackman Moseley. 

Class Leaders — Thomas Evans, Sr., and Jacob N. Miller. 

Local Preachers — Thomas Evans, Sr. 

On November 13th, 1842, there were just thirty-seven members 
and eleven probationers on the roll. There is an item of interest 
recorded in the minutes of the Quarterly Conference, which met 
tenth of December. 

steward's REPORT. 

Amount collected, $7.25. 

R. D. Neale's claim, $6 ; traveling expenses, 50 cents. 
J. J. Ferree's claim, $25 ; traveling expenses, $12. 
Paid R. D. Neale, 50 cents* 
Paid J. J. Ferree (quarterage), $6.75. 

$7.25 to presiding elder and preacher in charge for one quarter 
of a year. 

GOOD OLD DAYS OF YORE. 

But times have changed. A pair of boots now would cost more 
than the whole amount collected during that quirter. This confer- 
ence year there were twenty-six infants baptised, and among the num- 
ber we note the names of W. S. Thomas Jefferson and Adam Rankin 
Johnson and John Jordan Holloway. 

The Quarterly Conferences were short, since it only required 
about one finger's length to record all the minutes, and only two 
questions were asked, viz: First — Are there any complaints or ap- 
peals ? Second — Where and when shall the next quarterly meeting 
be held ? 

During the early part of 1843 Zion was attached to the Hender 
son station. No mention of Sunday schools is made until February 
17th, 1844, when we have the following note in the Pastors Report, 
under the head of Sabbath Schools : " One formed with near forty 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 441 

scholars." It is a fact, however, that there was a Sunday school that 
met in the Court House and was in a flourishing condition several years 
previous to this one. In 1843 '44, Richard Tydings was P. E. and J. 
J. Ferree, Pastor. 

In 1844 '45, Rev. N. B. Lewis, father of Rev. J. W. Lewis, the 
present Pastor, was Presiding Elder, and Rev. J. M. Cook ' was 
Pastor. He was a supply not yet in the Conference. This record 
occurs in the minutes of the last quarterly conference for that year, 
which met June 21st, 1845''46, the voice of the conference was taken 
upon division (of the church). They voted in favor of the South. 
That year the P. E. received $45 and the Pastor, $48.56. The charge 
at this time was in the Morganfield church and being on the border, they 
were allowed to vote as to whether they would adhere to the Church 
North or South. Hence the vote above referred to. 

In 1845, '46, Rev. N. H. Lee was Presiding Elder and Rev. F. M. 
English, Pastor. In 1846 '47, N. H. Lee was Presiding Elder, and 
Abram Long, Pastor. Along here the records are very meager. In 
1847, '48, Rev. A. H. Redford was Presiding Elder and Rev. W, 
Alexander, Pastor. 

The lot on which the present church stands, was bonght of Mr. 
Geo. Atkinson for $1,500 in 1850, and the lot where the Colored 
Baptist Church now stands, was sold for $900. The subscriptions to 
build the present church were secured largely in the second year of 
Rev. G. H. Hayes' term as Pastor, in 1855. 

The first story was built under the administration of Rev. J. A. 
Henderson, in 1856. Here it stood for some time for want of funds 
to finish. During the term of J. J. Talbott, in 1859, the building was 
completed in its present form. 

The Methodist Church now has, within the city limits, one church 
and parsonage, recently purchased, and one District parsonage, all of 
which property aggregates about $15,000 in value. There are two 
hundred and twenty-five members and one hundred and forty Sunday 
school scholars. A good library belongs to the Sunday School. It 
is now in a more flourishing condition than ever before, so far as I 
can gather from the history, which I have carefully read. 

One fact deserves special mention : from the time this work 
became a station, in 1842, it has remained a station uninterruptedly 
to the present day. 



442 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



P. E. AND P. C. 
1831. A. Long, P. C. 
l835-'36. A. L. Alderson, on Circuit, 
1838. J. D. Barnett, P. C. 

1838. Joseph Stanfield was in charge of the Henderson Circuit, which 
was the Paris, Tennessee, District Conference. 

FIRST qUARTERLY CONFERENCE, HENDERSON STATION, 

October 18th, 1843. Richard D. Neal, P. E., James J. Ferree, P. C. 
At this meeting, forty to fifty members were added to the church. 

Year, rresidiug Elders. Pastors Congref^^ation. 

1843 Richard Tydings. James J. Ferree. 

1844 N. B. Lewis. J. M, Cook. 

1845 N. H. Lee. F. M. English. 

1846 N. H Lee, A. Long. 

1847 ... A. H. Redford. Wm. Alexander. 

1848 A . H. Red'ord. A, A, Morrison. 

1849 A. H. Redford. G. R Browder. 

1850 .James J . Ferree. J . W. Berry, 

1851 James J. Ferree. E . M. Walker. 

1852 J. D Barnett. P. B. McCown. 

1853 J. D. Barnett. Geo. H, Hayes. 

1854 Z. Taylor. Geo. H. Hayes. 

1855 N. H. Lee. J. A. Henderson. 

1856 N. H. Lee. Wm. Randolph. 

1857 N. H. Lee. W.N. Farley. 

1859 J. S. Scobee. J.J. Talbott. 

1860 J. S. Scobee. J. A. Henderson, 

186 1 ...J. A. H. Preston. J.A.Henderson. 

1862 A, L. Alderson. J, A. Henderson. 

1863 A. L. Alderson H. M. Ford. 

1864 A L, Alderson. H.M.Ford. 

1865 A L. Alderson. A . A. Morrison . 

1866 J. R» Dempsey. Dennis Spurier. 

1867 J. R. Dempsey . Jacob 

1868 J. R. Dempsey. W. H. Ander on. 

1869 J. R. Dempsey. R. F. Hayes. 

1870 T. C. Frogge. T. S. Wash. 

1871 T. C, Frogge. " T.W.Price. 

1872 T. C. Frogge. T. W. Price. 

1873 N. H. Lee. G. W. Brush. 

1874 N.H.Lee. G. W. Brush. 

1875 G. H Hayes. H. M. Ford. 

1876 G.H.Hayes. Dennis Spurier. 

1877 G, H. Hayes. Dennis Spurier. 

1878 , G, H. Hayes. Dennis Spurier. 

1879 E.W.Crowe. Dennis Spurier. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 443 

1880 G. H Hayes. J. W. Lewis 

1881 T.D.Lewis. J.W.Lewis. 

1882 T. D. Lewis. J. W. Lewis. 

1884... G. H*Hayes G. H. Means. 

1885 G. H. Hayes. G. H. Means. 

1886 G. H. Hayes. E. W. Bottomly . 

1887 G. H Hayes. E. W. Bottomly. 

SECOND PRESBYTii.RIAN CHURCH OF HENDERSON. 

The existence of the Second Presbyterian Church of Hender- 
son, is an apt illustration that we should not " despise the day of 
small things," and an encouragement to those who labor earnestly 
and faithfully in the Master's vineyard that " in due time they shall 
reap if they faint not." 

Planted in faith, and nurtured by the prayers of God's people, 
the spreading branches of this vine, so humble in its beginning, has 
borne, and is bearing, precious fruit, that should fill the heart of every 
Christian with devout thankfulness and gratitude to Him who " alone 
o:iveth the increase." 

To Dr. Pinkney Thompson, the mo^t indefatigable worker and 
the most liberal contributor, the success of the enterprise is largely 
due, and the labors of the little band who, with Dr. Thompson, 
through long years of patient seed sowing worked and waited, should 
be held in lasting remembrance. 

The question of establishing a Mission School in the southeast- 
ern part of the city, for the purpose especially of gathering the poorer 
classes of children who did not attend Sabbath School elsewhere, had 
been frequently discussed among the officers of the Presbyterian 
Church, until in 1868 it was determined to make an effort in that 
direction. 

A most eligibly located lot, situated on the corner of Washington 
and Alvasia streets, was purchased at a cost of $1,000, and a plain, 
substantial frame house erected on it at a cost of nearly $1,000. Al- 
most the whole of this expense was borne by a few persons, and that 
their children may know and emulate their go6d deeds, the names of 
those who so liberally responded to the call are given, viz.: Mrs. R. 

B. Stites, $150 ; Miss R. H. Stites, $100 ; James R. Barrett, $100 ; 

C. T. Starling, $100 ; John McCullough, $100; W. J. Marshall $100 ; 
Mrs. Mary Burbank, $50 ; Mrs. J. H. Barret, Sr., $50 ; J. H. Barret, 
Jr., $50; S. B. Vance, $25. The balance of the expenditure, except 
a few small contributions, was borne by Dr. Thompson. 



444 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

In November, 1868, the building having been completed, was 
dedicated. The venerable Sunday School Missionary, Rev. John Mc- 
Cullough, was present and took part in the exercises, and at the close 
of his inimitable address he named the building " Thompson Chapel," 
in recognition of Dr. Thompson's very valuable services in bringing 
the matter to so successful an issue. 

The Sabbath School was duly organized, with Dr. Thompson as 
Superintendent, and W. H. Noaks, Librarian. Of those, who during 
sixteen vears labored in maintainins: and carrvins: on the school, we 
mention the names of Misses Nannie and Alice Rankin, Mrs. Mary 
Barret, and her daughter. Miss Mary Barrett, Mrs. Eliza Jones, Mrs. 
Jennie Cissell, Miss Lucy Beverly, C. G. Henson, Posey and Willie 
Marshall. Many of these were tried and valued teachers in the Old 
School, but with the hope of doing more good they cast in their lot 
with the new enterprise. The expenses of running the school during 
this time were borne almost entirely by Dr. Thompson. 

The population in the vicinity of the Mission School increased 
very rapidly, and the field seemed so encouraging that in 1884 the 
oflficers of the Presbyterian Church deemed, in the providence of God, 
the time had come to organize at the Mission School another church. 
Between 1868 and 1884 the name Thompson Chapel seems to have 
been dropped and the school was called the Chestnut Hill Mission 
School — perhaps as a more euphonious title and also in honor of a 
large chestnut tree which still stands near the Sunday School room. 

In January, 1884, a petition signed by certain members of the 
Presbyterian Church was presented to the session, asking to be set 
apart for the purpose of organizing a church to be called the Chest- 
nut Hill Presbyterian Church of Henderson. In the afternoon of 
March 2d, 1884, the session having at their own request dismissed for 
that purpose the following members, viz.: P. Thompson, Mrs. Nan- 
nie Thompson, M. Yeaman, Mrs. Julia Yeaman, J. C. Allin, Mrs. Su- 
san Allin Mrs. R. H. Elam, Miss Mary McCullagh, Miss Lucy 
Beverley, Mrs. Helen Henry, W. H. Noakes, B. W. Powell, Edward 
Atkinson, Mrs. Nanni^ Atkinson, Mrs. Mary Erhman, Mrs. Ella 
Helm, Mrs. Cornelia Hill, Miss F. A. Briggs and W. J. Marshall, Jr., 
who were organized into a church. Immediately after the organiza- 
tion the congregation met and proceeded to the election of officers. 
The following persons were chosen elders, viz.: P. Thompson, J. C. 
Allin, M. Yeaman and Edward Atkinson. W. J. Marshall, Jr., and 
W. H. Noakfes were elected Deacons. These officers were then or- 
dained and installed, except that J. C. Allin having been an elder in 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 445 

the First Presbyterian Church of Louisville, and P. Thompson, who 
had been an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Henderson, 
were installed but not ordained. 

Rev. Angus McDonald having been invited to visit the church, 
came to Henderson, and on April 10th, at a meeting of the congre- 
gation, he was unanimously called to be the pastor of the church. 
Mr. McDonald accepted the call and entered upon his work the first 
Sabbath of May, 1884, and was installed on June 8th. The selec- 
tion of Mr. McDonald as pastor seems to have been a most fortunate 
one in every particular, and under his care the church has made a 
growth and progress rarely equalled. Soon after Mr. McDonald be- 
gan his labors the congregation resolved to build a new house of wor- 
ship. With them to resolve was to perform. A committee was ap- 
pointed to secure means, who zealously entered upon the work, and 
the congregation responded with the most commendable liberality. 
They did not want any second class affair. The handsomest church 
in the City of Henderson was the measure of their ambition, and in 
this we are very forcibly reminded of the action of the Mother 
Church when they undertook to build in 1840. The work was pushed 
on, and at a cost of $9,000 the building was completed, and on Au- 
gust 9th, 1885, was dedicated by Rev. B. M. Palmer, D.D., of New 
Orleans, who preached an appropriate sermon from Ezekiel 47, 9 : 
"And everything shall live whither the river shall come." 

On November 9th, 1883, at a congregational meeting held for 
the purpose of electing additional elders and deacons Messrs. R. A. 
Bradshaw and William T, Beverley were chosen elders and J. R. 
Dabney, W. J. Mann, H. W. Kohl and B. M. Powell deacons, who 
were ordained and installed on the following Sabbath. 

On August 1st, 1886, Mr. Edwin Hodge was elected a deacon, 
having previously held the same office in the First Church. Since 
its organization the Second Church has received a large accession of 
members and it is a singular coincident that the number received the 
first year of Mr. McDonald's pastorate was fifty-two and during the 
second year exactly the same, making an average accession of one 
member for each Sabbath in the two years. The roll of the church 
now contains five elders, five deacons and one hundred and seventy- 
three members. 

The Sunday School now numbers twenty-two teachers and one 
hundred and seventy scholars. Last year an addition was made to 
the Sunday School room for the accommodation of the infant class 



446 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

department, of which Miss Mary McCullagh is Superintendent. The 
addition cost $300 and was paid for by the weekly collections of the 
Sunday School. 

A SKETCH OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF HENDERSON, KENTUCKY, 

BY W. J. MARSHALL. 

The writer undertakes, with no little hesitation, the preparation 
of this narrative, yet the task having been assigned him by the session 
of the church, he accepts it cheerfully, and whatever care and toil 
may be required in the work, will be to him "a labor of love," 
thankful for another opportunity of serving the church, he will count 
it no small honor to have his name go down to our children's children 
associated with her's : 

" I love Thv Kingdom, Lord, 
The house of Thine abode. 
The church our dear Redeemer saved 
With His own precious blood. 

"' For her my tears shall fall, 

For her my prayers ascend , 
To her my cares and toils be given 

'Till cares and toils shall end." 

It is doubtless a fact that there were many Presbyterians in this 
section of the country previous to the close of the last century, but if 
there were any organized churches of that denomination existing then, 
the records have been entirely lost. 

No doubt the division of the Cumberland Presbytery at the 
beginning of the present century, which resulted in the formation of 
the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, exercised a most unfortunate 
influence on the spread and efficiency of Presbyterianism in this 
whole region. 

We learn from the county records that Rev. Jas. McGready was 
in the county officiating at marriages as early as 1800, his presence 
here being, most probably, for the purpose of preaching to the 
scattered churches or where there was no church organization, to the 
scattered flock. 

After the formation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 
there seems to have been separate organizations, but when or by 
vvhom organized we have no means of finding out. From the recol- 
lection of some of our oldest members we learn that about the year 
1806, "Revs. Beatty, Dunleary and Parkins came to Henderson and 
held meetings. About 1809, Rev. Jas. McGready, formerly of North 
Carolina, removed from Russellville, Ky., settled near Henderson, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 447 

and, together with Father Temple, ministered for several years to this 
church. Mr. McGready died December 28i.h, 1815, and his funeral 
was preached in the log Court House of Henderson by the Rev. Mr. 
Scott, of Vincennes, Jnd. 

In the year 1813, Rev. Wm. Gray, from Union County, came 
into the field and labored as an Evangelist until 1814, at which time 
Rev. Daniel Comfort, from Princeton, New Jersey, was called to the 
church, and in addition took charge of the Henderson Seminary. He 
remained here until about 1820, and from that date to the year 1824, 
Rev. Daniel Banks, of New Haven, Conn., preached as an Evangelist. 

Mrs. Margaret A. Barbour, who was a daughter of Rev. James 
McGready and the widow of Ambrose Barbour, deeded in the year 
1822, to " John Posey and Fayette Posey, Elders of the Presbyterian 
congregation in Henderson, Ky., in connection with the Synod of 
Kentucky and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 
the United States of America, for the use and benefit of the said 
Presbyterian Congregation one acre of ground, being lot No. 222 on 
the pl,at of said town and adjoining the Public Square." This is the 
earliest record we can find relating to the church, although it is known 
that for years previous to this, Captain John Posey and Major 
Fayette Posey had been ruling elders in the church and tradition has 
o-iven us also the names of John Hancock, McCombs and Heroit, 
also ruling elders, but who had probably died previous to the making 
of this deed. 

From 1824 to 1840, the church was served at irregular intervals 
by the following ministers : Isaac Baird, R. Lapsley, two Hamiltons, 
Philips, John and Wm. Dickey, John Herby Lilly, Geo. McAfee and 
John Lyle. Through all these long years, the church seems to have 
made almost no progress. In the division, the bulk of the Presby- 
terians in this region seems to have gone over to the Cumberlands, 
and we are told that, at one time, the Presbyterian Church was 
reduced to fifteen or twenty members. The Posey brothers, their 
families, and a few mothers in Israel, all told, were left. But these 
clung to the covenant. God heard their prayers and they lived to see 
the church built up and extended, many of their descendants being 
brought into the fold. 

About the year 1839, a young stranger, whom it ieems a kind 
providence had especially fitted and sent to accomplish a great work 
for the church, came to the county — unknown and poor, he made 
friends wherever he went, and ere long he had gained both the esteem 



448 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

and confidence of the whole community. I allude to Elder John 
McCullagh, to whom under God the church owes more for the pros- 
perity she has since enjoyed than to any other person. For a few 
months he taught school in the family of Captain John Posey, who re- 
sided in the country ; then, coming to town, he took charge of a school 
known as the Henderson Eclectic Institute. 

Being a Scotchman, he was of course Presbyterian ; being a 
Scotch Presbyterian, he could not sit by contented while the cause of 
Zion languished, her people as sheep without a sheperd, and having 
no spiritual home. He first began by organizing a Union Sabbath 
School in the old seminary building, and Sunday after Sunday could 
he be seen going up and down the streets ringing his bell, inviting the 
children of the community to the Sabbath School. The school was a 
success ; the enthusiasm of this young brother was contagions, and it 
was not long before the effects of his efforts were visible in the church. 
The first record of our oldest session books reads thus : "At a meet- 
ing of the church called October 25th, 1840, by Elder Fayette Posey, 
to take measures to procure ministerial aid, a motion was made and 
carried unanimously that the Rev. J. V. Dodge be solicited to labor 
part of his time among them." At the same meeting, the election of 
additional elders was proposed and entered into. The following 
persons were nominated and unanimously elected, viz : Wm. S. Read 
and John McCullagh. These were " set apart and ordained according 
to the constitution of the church by Rev. J. V. Dodge, on December 
13th, 1840." 

Under the ministration of Brother Dodge, the church continued 
to give evidences of new life, and soon the need of having a house of 
worship of their own became evident. In past years repeated pro- 
jects had been started with a view of building a Union Church for 
Cumberlands and Presbyterians, and some ^money [had been raised 
by fairs, suppers, etc., for this purpose. The undertaking failing, the 
little band of Presbyterians, although the poorer of the two churches, 
resolved to do what both together had failed to accomplish, and to 
build a church exclusively their own. Being strong in the faith they 
devised liberal things ; no little church around the corner would satisfy 
their desires, a commodious brick building to cost not less than six 
thousand dollars, and located in the center of the town was the meas- 
ure of their ambition. It was a bold enterprise, but in its boldness lay 
its strength. The community, surprised and pleased at the prospect 
of such a substantial improvement responded with liberal subscriptions. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



449 



Considering the circumstances of the church and community at 
that day, six thousand dollars was as large a sum as fifty thousand 
dollars would be at the present time, and the brethren must 
have surely been reading the list of worthies mentioned in the 
11th chapter of Hebrews before entering upon such an enter- 
prise. The labor of raising funds was undertaken by brother 
McCullagh, and no wonder the old man, now grown gray in his 
master's service, loves to sit and tell of his efforts, and the success 
that attended them. One incident in this connection deserves to be 
recorded. Mr. McCullagh resolved on one bold move, which, if ac- 
complished, would make success assured. He got up a special sub- 
scription paper on which he was to have pledged two thousand dollars, 
subscribed by not more than ten persons, the subscriptions made only 
to be binding in case he succeeded in raising the whole amount in 
sixty days. After a faithful canvass he had gotten subscribed seven- 
teen hundred dollars. The field seemed to have been gleaned, and 
where further to go and to whom apply, he scarcely knew— but I will 
let him tell of his dilemma in his own words. 

" In the dark and trying hour I went to the Mercy Seat for light, 
and spent a sleepless night wrestling in prayer ; in the early dawn the 
light came and a voice seemed to say, 'go and see Mrs. R. B. Stites and 
tell her you want to secure a place for the Lord, an habitation for the 
Mighty God of Jacob, and that everything depends upon her, and she 
wiU not refuse.' I went without delay, and was cordially received ; 
she enquired how I was getting on raising the two thousand dollars. 
With a sad heart and trembling words I went on to tell her the exact 
state of the case, and that so far as I could judge everything depended 
on some one of God's jewels giving the balance of the two thousand 
dollars. I talked on and on at great length, fearing to give her a 
chance to refuse ; she seemed greatly amused, and at last replied, 
' Well my young brother, I knew what you came for and what all this 
long talking meant ; you shall have the three hundred dollars with 
the greatest pleasure, I laid it aside to help you and now just go ahead 
and raise the other four thousand dollars.' I started right off to the 
old seminary singing the long metre Doxology, and shouting now and 
then Glory Hallelujah. I am fully satisfied that was the crisis in the 
history of the Henderson Presbyterian Church, and if i\iQ two thousand 
dollars had not been secured, neither the present building, 7ior its location 
could possibly have been secured ; consequently our beloved church owes more 
to Mrs. R. B. Stites than 1o any other mortal, living or dead." 

29 



450 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Brother McCullagh seems disposed to award my dear old aunt, 
first place in the accomplishment of this great work. No doubt, she 
most richly deserves all he can say in her praise. For many years, 
her name in the community has been a synonym for all that is pure 
and pious and lovely — a helper to the poor and needy, a ministering 
angel to the sick and suffering, a friend to the erring. None but God's 
recording angel ever knew her many deeds of kindness and charity. 
With more t^ian ordinary mental endowment and cultivation, her spirit 
was so refined by grace that she attracted both young and old ; and 
while not neglecting her family duties, her chief thought seemed to be 
for the welfare of the church, and the good of others. While, there- 
fore, I would not gainsay one word said by Brother McCullagh, I can 
not take back what I have written, and shall record it as the verdict 
of this history, at least that both deserve the first place, and I have 
no doubt, but that the church as one man will join me and say amen. 

But we left our young Scotch brother on the way to his lodging 
in the old seminary, singing the long metre doxology, and bearing his 
precious paper in his hand, a document which has been so important 
a factor m the history of the church, deserves a place in this narrative, 
and the names of the benefactors who came to her help in the hour 
of need, should be held in lasting remembrance by the church. The 
following is a copy of the paper : 

" Each of the undersigned hereby agree to pay to the Building Committee 
of the Presbyterian Church, in the Town of Henderson, (which Committee is 
named in the original subscription list for said Church), any sum of money 
which we shall annex to our respective names, at the time and on the terms 
mentioned in the said original subscription list; Provided, that no person shall 
sign this paper who subscribes less than two hundred dollars; Provided, fur- 
ther, that this obligation shall be utterly null, void, and of no effect, unless 
within sixty days from this date the sum of two thousand dollars be subscribed 
hereto by any number of persons not exceeding ten, and; Provided further, 
that no subscriber hereto shall be bound, or in any manner responsible for the 
amount of any other »ubscription hereto. 

"March 22nd, 1841, Samuel Stites, $206; Hugh Kerr, $200; Nancy Terry, 
$200 ; Fayette Posey, $500 ; Annie Henderson, $200 ; David R. Burbank, 
$200 ; Edmund H. Hopkins, $200; Rebecca B. Stites, $300." 

Having made si\^h a good start, Mr. McCullagh soon raised 
a sufficient amount to build the church. 

I have now before me the old subscription paper, yellow^ with the 
lapse of years, and as I read the long list of names it brings a feeling 
of sadness to think that nearly all are numbered with the dead. Of 
the whole eighty persons subscribing, but eleven are now living. A 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 451 

Building Committee consisting of F. Posey, Samuel Stites, E. H. 
Hopkins, Wm. S. Read and James Rouse, was appointed. Mr. Stites 
was made Secretary and Treasurer, and on him devolved most of the 
responsibility of making the contracts and pushing forward the work. 

Our community has seldom known a more competent and sys- 
tematic business man than Mr. Stites, and although not at that time 
a member of the church, none took more interest in the enterprise 
than he, and his work was accomplished faithfully. To him the church 
owes a debt of gratitude, and to Dr. Owen Glass as well, who, though 
at the time a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, ren- 
dered most valuable assistance in enabling the committee to secure 
such a central and delightful location. The bricks for the church 
were furnished by Mr. James W. Clay, the mason work done by Elias 
Peck, and the carpenter work by Mr. Jeffries. 

The church building was finished in the spring of 1842. In 
April of the same year, Rev. N. H. Hall, of Lexington, Ky., visited 
Henderson. I find the following minutes in the old Sessional Rec- 
ords, dated April 4th, 1842 : " The Rev. N. H. Hall in the chair, it 
was moved and seconded that the Rev. William G. Allen, of Shelby- 
ville, be solicited to become the pastor of this church." 

Another extract, dated April Ivth, 1842: "The Rev. William 
G. Allen commenced his ministerial labors." 

The church building being probably incomplete at the time of 
Dr. Hall's coming, the dedication did not take place until later. 

About this time Dr. Hall seems to have gone on to Hopkins- 
ville, to hold a meeting there, and, in the meanwhile, the Rev. James 
Smith (the Scotchman) came to Henderson and preached a series of 
sermons here on the "Evidences of Christianity, and the Fall and 
Redemption of Man." 

On June 1st, 1842, Dr. Hall returned and " commenced a pro- 
tracted meeting on the solemn occasion of the dedication of the 
church to the service of Almighty God." The dedication sermon was 
preached on Saturday the fourth instant. Brother McCullough says 
of the occasion : " Remembering the motto, ' Expect great things from 
God, attempt great things for God,' it was expected that every mem- 
ber of the church should make the dedication sermon, and the pro- 
tracted meeting that was to follow, a matter of special prayer. These 
all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication. The Doc- 
tor soon found that the church had been praying for a revival, and 
remarked several times, ' It's no trouble to preach where the church 



452 • HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

has been praying.' He preached a powerful dedication sermon. I 
think the text was, ' I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of 
Hosts.' K revival ca?ne down, diVid scores were brought into the Ark 
of Refuge. This precious promise has often been fulfilled in our 
history, when the power of the Holy Spirit was manifested in our 
midst. • Walk about Zion, and go round about her; tell the towers 
thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye 
may tell it to the generations following.' " 

In results this was, no doubt, the most important revival ever 
experienced in the church. Before the close of the meeting there 
had been added to the roll nearly fifty names. 

On June 9th, Drs. Owen, Glass, and Joseph Haddocks were 
elected and installed elders. 

On September 26th, at a congregational meeting, " the Rev. W. 
G. Allen was unanimously elected, and, Presbytery being then in 
session in the church, was immediately ordained and installed pastor 
of the church. Mr. Baird preached the ordination sermon, Mr. Ham- 
ilton presided, and Mr. Jones delivered the charge to the Bishop and 
people." 

Nothing of striking moment occurred in the history of the church 
during the remainder of the year 1842 and the year 1843. 

On April 14th, 1844, the first deacons were elected and ordained, 
viz.: James E. Rankin and R. G. Beverly. 

On September 4th, 1844, the session, at the request of Rev. Wil- 
riam G. Allen, joined him in an application to Presbytery to dissolve 
the pastoral relation between himself and the Henderson Church. 
The pulpit remained vacant until December. At the invitation of 
the session, Rev. D. L. Gray, of Mississippi, visited the church, and 
on the twenty-second of this month, at a congregational meeting, he 
was unanimously invited to become the stated supply of the church 
for one year. He commenced his ministerial service on the twenty- 
fi^th of January, 1845. 

On May 11th, 1845, Dr. Joseph Maddock, one of the elders, was 
dismissed, to join the church at New Haven, Conn., from whence he 
had removed to Henderson. Colonel E. H. Hopkins was elected and 
ordained elder August 24th; 1845. 

On December 14th, 1845, at a congregational meeting, the Rev. 
D. L. Gray was unanimously elected pastor of the church. How it 
happened that his installation was deferred till April 2d, 1847, is at 
this day one of the unaccountable things in the history of the church. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 453 

Henry M. Warner was received June 25th, 1S47, b}' letter from 
the Congregational Church of Sunderland, Mass. Mr. Warner was 
taken under the care of our Presbytery as a candidate for the minis- 
try. He was a pious and very premising young man. For some time 
he taught school with Mr. McCullaugh, but was afterwards taken sick 
and died at the residence of Mr, Gray. He was buried in the old 
cemetery, the ladies of the church erecting a monument over his 
grave. 

At the close of the year 1850, Mr. Gray felt constrained to ac- 
cept a call to act as missionary in their bounds, from the Synod of 
Arkansas, and therefore removed from Henderson about the first of 
the year 1851, 

I cannot pass this part of the record without recalling to memory 
two dear friends who then occupied prominent places in the church, 
but who have long since gone to their reward. Thadeus D. Jones 
joined the church in the early part of Dr. Hall's meetings, and from 
that time forward entered with all his heart and soul into his Mas- 
ter's service. Noble and manly in his bearing, warm hearted and 
true, his spirit was as gentle and his feelings as tender as those of a 
woman. He was always to be found at his post, whether in the ser- 
vice of the sanctuary, in the labors of the Sabbath School, or by the 
bedside of the sick. To him the " voice of duty was as the voice of 
God." 

Miss Emily Ingram, afterwards Mrs, Dr. Letcher, was also one 
of the early converts at this same meeting, and straightway entered 
into the Savior's service with all the ardor of her young heart. Tall 
and handsome in person, her manners were both graceful and lady- 
like. She seemed happily to blend the characteristics of Mary and 
Martha, and was forward in every good work in the church. The 
writer can never forget how, when brought by disease nigh to the 
gates of death, through snow and storm she came almost daily to his 
bedside, bringing sunshine and hope in her sweet face and sympathis- 
ing voice. She and Mr. Jones were for years the leaders of the 
choir, and very earnest workers in the Sunday School. 

On March 3d, 1851, at a congregational meeting of the church, 
it was resolved to petition Muhlenburg Presbytery for their consent 
that Rev. John D. Matthews should labor in this church as stated 
supply. The request of the church having been granted by Presby- 
tery, Dr. Matthews began his ministration May 4th, 1851. 

On the twenty-fourth of November, 1851, Captain John Posey, 
for about forty years an elder in the church, departed this life. Dr. 



454 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Matthews preached a most beautiful and fitting sermon on the occa- 
sion of his funeral, and the minutes adopted by the session regarding 
his death close with these words : " We know of no one who is more 
certain to hear from the Master the words, ' Come ye blessed of my 
Father and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world,' for he was a model Christian." 

Dr, W. S. Reed, an elder, moved to Texas in the fall of 1851. 

On December 7th, 1851, James E. Rankin, David Bunks, John 
B. Cabel and Walter G. Offutt were elected elders, and William J. 
Marshall and Wyatt H. Ingram, deacons. William J. Marshall, be- 
ing then a resident of the county, declined on that account to accept 
the office of deacon, and on January 4th Thomas Evans was elected 
in his place. 

About the close of the year 1851, the ladies of the church raised 
six hundred dollars towards the purchase of a parsonage, and the 
house and lot then occupied by Mr. Ben. Weller was bought for that 
purpose. 

The year 1852, and most of the year 1853, seem to have been 
void of events requiring a notice in this record. 

On November 1st, 1853, Rev. J. D. Matthews having received a 
call to the Presbyterian Church at Lexington, removed to that place. 

In February, 1854, Rev. John A. Scott, of Virginia, at the invi- 
tation of the session, visited the church and preached a series of ser- 
mons. "At a congregational meeting held March 12th, he was chosen 
with a view to a call and installation, as pastor of the church." What 
subsequently became of Brother Scott, the record does not tell."-^ 

In September, 1854, Rev. J. Woodbridge remo\ed to Hender- 
son and preached in the church. On April 16th, 1855, he was unani- 
mously called to the pastorate. May 20th witnessed his installation. 

The years 1855, '56, '57 and '58 gave rise to no important event 
in the church's history. On December 29th, 1859, Dr. Owen Glass 
died. The minutes adopted by the session say of him : " Dr. Glass 
was a liberal contributor to the boards of the church, and all efforts 
to sustain the ordinances of the Gospel. His efficient hand was felt 
in every enterprise in which we engaged for the promotion of the 
welfare of our church. Energetic and earnest, whatever his hands 
found to do, he did with his might, and, under God, was made an in- 
strument greatly blessed to the attainment of the degree of prosperity 
which the church has reached." 

*He w^iis for many years a prominent minister in Virginia, and told me tliat the 
mistake of his life was his refusal to accept the Henderson call, D. O. D. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 455 

At a congregational meeting held April 8th, 18G0, Mr. Henry R, 
Tunstall, formerly an elder in the Walnut Street Church of Louis- 
ville, and Mr. Wm. Beatty, formerly an elder in the Fourth Street 
Church, of Louisville, were elect-^d elders in the Henderson Church- 
In the vear 1860, the Lecture Room was added and the church 
enlarged. 

The early part of 1861 saw a blessed revival. The pastor was 
assisted in the meetings by Rev. Dr. Hendricks, and about forty 
names were added to the roll. 

Mr. John B. Cabell, one of the elders, died July 27th, 1862. In 
recording his death the session says : " It is our privilege to record 
the consistency of his conduct as a Christian, the guilelessness and 
gentleness of his character, the uniform courtesv and kindness ex- 
hibited in his intercourse with the church, and his deliberations with 
the session. He was a faithful co-worker, with a heart ever sympa- 
thising, and a hand ever read}^ to contribute to the necessities of the 
Kingdom of God. In his last, and lingering, illness he exhibited the 
patience which arises from a trust in God, saying, 'My hope is firm 
as a rock ; precious, precious promises.' " 

William Beatty, elder, died on October 25th, 1862. I quote the 
following regarding him, adopted as a resolution by the session : " He 
was a faithful and beloved brother in the Lord, firm in his attachment 
to the church, unswerving in his adherence to the principles of the 
Gospel. As a member and an office bearer in the house of God, he 
had our confidence and respect." 

No important event in connection with the church occurred dur- 
ing 1863. In the spring of 1864 Mrs. Stites, seeing the urgent need 
of more room for the Sabbath School, built and presented to the 
church a room for the infant class. The minutes adopted April 8th, 
regarding the gift, read thui : The Session records with gratitude to 
God the liberality of Mrs. Rebecca Stites, in erecting an infant Sab- 
bath School room in connection with the church, and in defraying the 
entire expenses of the building. She has thus been instrumental in 
adding important facilities to the operations of our Sabbath School, 
and has conferred a lastii^g obligation upon the church and its chil- 
dren ; wherefore, 

'^Resolved, That the thanks of the Session are hereby tendered to Mrs. 
Stites tor her good work in behalf of our church and Sabbath School, and it is 
our praver that her Christian liberadty, as thus manifested, may prove a bles- 
sing to those in whose behalf it was bestowed, may be accepted and rewarded 



456 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

of the Lord Jesus as done in his name, and in behalf of the ^ Httle ones ' of 
his flock, and that his gracious words may be verified to the donor ' that it is 
more blessed to give than to receire.' " 

The above were the last minutes entered in the session book by 
Mr. J. E. Rankin, who was then clerk of the session. A. little more 
than three months later, the church was called to mourn his death, in 
regard to which the session makes the following record : " In deep 
sorrow, we are called to record the death of our beloved brother, James 
Edward Rankin, ruling elder, and member of the session." 

On the 11th of July, while engaged in his ordinary avocation as a 
merchant, in this town, he was wantonly assailed by one of a plunder- 
ing band of armed men and fatally wounded by a pistol shot. Strong 
hopes were entertained, and earnest prayers were offered for his re- 
covery. But God had ordained otherwise, and on the morning of the 
Lord's day, July 24th, 1864, his spirit took its flight, we doubt not, to 
a better world. Mr. Rankin was born on the 19th of August, A. D., 
1810, and was a native of Henderson County. Here his life was spent, 
and none had won more fully, the respect and confidedce of the com- 
munity by a course of undeviating honor and integrity. Possessing 
m a remarkable degree a genial nature, and a kind heart, he secured 
not noly the esteem, but the affection of all who knew him. He made 
a public confession of his faith in connection with the church on the 
ninth day of June, 1842, was ordained deacon on the fourteeth of 
April, 1844, and ruling elder on the fourth of Januray, 1852. As a 
ruling elder he was invariably in his place at the meetings of sessions, 
and cheerfully and earnestly bore his share of every burden. He was 
a zealous and efficient co-worker, aiding with his influence, his purse, 
and his prayers, all the enterprises of the church. He was for many 
years Superintendent of the Sabbath School, in which his affections 
were greatly interested. The same regularity and perseverance which 
were his characteristics in other departments of Christian usefulness 
marked his course in this labor of love. He trained his family in the 
nurture and admonition of the Lord, endeavoring by ^ godly walk and 
conversation to commend to his children! the Gospel in which he 
trusted for salvation. He loved the kingdom of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ, and was never forgetful of the#interests of the church in 
which he was an office bearer. He was, indeed, one of those whom 
God raised up to be a pillar in the house of God. 

In his confinement to the bed of suffering and death, he dis- 
played great calmness, and even when believing that his end was near, 
he manifested no pertubation of spirit, but quietly rested in faith on 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 457 

the Savior in whom he believed. Wherefore, in view of our bereave- 
ment as a session, 

^^Resolved, First, that we deplore the loss of a member so qualified hyper- 
sonal piety, by a good report, by practical knowledge, by ma/ked prudence, 
and wise counsels to be useful to the church ; yet we bow in humble submis- 
sion to the gracious sovereignity of a covenant God. 

'''Resolved, Second, that our thanks are due to the " Head of the Church" 
who gave us for so many years, one fitted eminently to be an eflficient helper in 
the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 

On January 29th, 1865, at a meeting of the congregation, Thomas 
Evans, Richard Stites and Pinkney Thompson, were elected Elders 
and James R. Barrett, James H. Holloway and Wm. A. Hopkins, 
Deacons, who were all ordained and installed February 5th. 

The Posey Chapel Church, having become depleted by deaths 
and removals, the Presbytery ordered the dissolution of the organiza- 
tion there, and the transfer of the remaining members to the Hender- 
son Church. 

This was done on November 25th, 1865, and on December 10th, 
Wm. J. Marshall, the only surviving Elder of the Posey Chapel 
Church, was elected, and installed a ruling Elder in the Henderson 
Church 

Those acquainted with the history of the Presbyterian Church in 
Kentucky will remember that the year 1866 was one of unusual in- 
terest and excitment. 

The deliverances of the General Assembly on loyalty, slavery, 
etc.^ the actions or the Declaration and Testimony party, and ques- 
tions connected with, and resulting from these, engendered feelings 
that caused the division and disruption of many churches. 

The situation was rendered still more critical for the Henderson 
Church by its being selected by the Synod of Kentucky as the place 
of meeting for that year. 

The session foresaw threatened danger and determined, if pos- 
sible, to avert it. 

That God blessed their efforts and that the church remained 
united through all the trouble, is a matter for which we cannot be too 
thankful. 

Feeling assured that the differences would almost inevitably cul- 
minate in a division of the Synod, the Session resolved that our 
church should not be represented at the meeting nor take any part in 
the proceedings. 

The Synod met in October with an unusually large attendance. 



458 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Dr. Robert Breck, the last Moderator, preached the opening ser- 
mon. So cool, so calm an I collected through it all that none would 
have suspected for a moment that he anticipated the scene of excite 
ment so soon to follow his sermon. Jndeed the quiet self-possession 
maintained by him through the trying ordeal was simply wonderful. 

It is outside the scope of this article to give in full the proceed- 
ings of that night's meeting, which resulted as had been anticipated, 
in a split in the Synod. 

The writer hopes never to be called upon to witness another 
such scene, at once so unfortunate to the interests of the church and 
so sad to those who truly loved her. 

On January 18th, 1867, Rev. Jahleel Woodbridge announced to 
the Session his intention to resign the pastorate of the church, but 
for various reasons, no action was taken on his resignation by the 
congregation until April 30th, when the congregation voted to join 
Mr. Woolbridge in an application to the Presbytery to dissolve the 
pastoral relations between himself and the church. 

In June, 1867, " the session having heard a good report of Rev. 
Wm. A. Harrison, of Alabama, invited him to visit the church with a 
view of supplying the pulpit." 

Mr. Harrison arrived on July 6th and ministered to the church 
until the thirtieth, when at a congregational meeting he was " nomi- 
nated and elected pastor without a dissenting voice." 

The third Sabbath in October was appointed by Muhlenburg 
Presbytery for the installation of Mr. Harrison, but on account of 
the sickness of Rev. Mr. Smoot, one of the committee on services, 
was postponed and did not take place until January 25th, 1868. 

Mr. Harrison's labors were much blessed to the building up of 
the church. A revival began in November and continued until Feb- 
ruary. Frequent protracted services were held and part of the time 
the pastor had assistance from abroad. 

The result was a large accession to the church, over fifty names 
being added to the roll between November and April. 

On May 16th, 1869, Charles T. Starling and James L Lambert 
were elected deacons and ordained and installed May 23d. 

October 5th, 1869, Elder Major Fayette Posey died. Major 
Posey came to Henderson County in the year 1802 with his father, 
General Thomas Posey, from Spottsylvania County, Virginia. He had 
been a ruling elder in the church for nearly or quite fifty years. 

For many years he and his brother. Captain John Posey, were 
the only elders and the mainstay of the church, and in her hour of 
need he contributed most liberally to her support. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 459 

In the latter part of the winter and spring of 1870, the church 
was blessed with another revival and about forty names were added 
to the roll. 

On November 10th, 187(^ at the request of Rev. W. A. Harri' 
son, the congregation voted to join him in application to the Presby- 
tery to dissolve the pastoral relation between himself and the Hen- 
derson church. 

At^ congregational meeting, held February 19th, 1871, for the 
purpose of electing additional trustees for the church and parsonage 
property, Messrs. Samuel B. Vance, Malcolm Yeaman, C. T. Starl- 
ing and Allan Gilmore were elected Trustees for the church property 
and Philip B. Matthews and Campbell H. Johnson for the parsonage 
property. 

At a congregational meeting, held April 12th, 1871, Rev. D. O. 
Davies was unanimously called to the pastorate of the church, he be- 
ing at the time pastor of the church at Clarksville, Tenn. 

W. J. Marshall was, at a meeting of the Session on May 1st, ap- 
pointed commissioner to prosecute the call before the Presbytery of 
Nashville, which met at McMinville, Tenn. 

Rev. Mr. Davies began his ministration to the church in June, 
1871. 

December 17th, 1871, James R. Barret, Wm. M. Hanna, Samuel 
B. Vance and Wm. A. Hopkins were elected ruling elders, and Ber- 
nard G. Witt, Prescott Burbank, Campbell H. Johnson and John H. 
Barret, Jr., were elected deacons and were ordained and installed 
December 24th, 1871. 

Elder H. R. Tunstall died January 23d, 1872. 

For many years before moving to Henderson Mr. Tunstall was 
a ruling elder in Walnut Street Church of Louisville, Ky. Active, 
earnest and faithful in the discharge of duty, always in his place in 
the sanctuary, his chief delight seemed to be in the service of his 
Master and working for His church. 

In March, 1871, the church purchased for a parsonage, the build- 
ing formerly owned and occupied by the Farmers' Bank, for which 
was paid the sum of $8,500. 

On June 12th, 1872, Rev. D. O. Davies was installed pastor of 
the church. 

In November, 1872, the church was blessed with a revival, dur- 
ing which, between thirty and forty names were added to the roll. 

In February, 1873, and again in February, 1875, the church re- 
ceived large accessions, and in January, 1877, over thirty names were 
added to the roll. 



460 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

On March 17th, 1879, Montgomery Merritt, Malcohn, Yeaman 
and D. J. Burr Reeve were elected deacons and ordained and en- 
stalled March 23d. 

In January, 1880, the church enjoyed another revival, in which 
over forty persons were added to their numbers. 

The years 1881 and 1882 passed without any occurrence worthy 
of note. 

In the fall of 1883 the question of organizing a church at the 
Mission School was agitated, and at a meeting of the Session, held 
on December 26th, 1883, the matter having been fully discussed, on 
motion, it was unanimously declared as the sense of the Session, that 
a church should be organized at the Mission School, and a committee 
consisting of Dr. Davies, Elder Thompson and Deacon Yeaman 
was appointed to see what volunteers could be obtained towards start- 
ing the enterprise, and report to the Session. 

On January 9th, 1884, the committee appointed at the last meet- 
ing made their report in the form of a petition, sign,ed by twelve 
members of the church, asking " that they be named and set apart 
from this organization for the purpose of organizing and establishing a 
Presbyterian Church, at the place named, and to be known as an*d 
called the Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church of Henderson, Ky." 
Further action on this petition was postponed until necessary arrange- 
ments for organization were perfected. 

On February 10th, 1884, the Session " dismissed for the purpose 
of forming the Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, the following 
members, viz : Dr. P. Thompson, Mrs. Nannie G Thompson, M. 
Yeaman, Mrs. Julia V. P. Yeaman, Mrs. R. H. Elm, I. C. Allin, Mrs. 
Susan A. Allin, Miss Mary McCullah, Hernandiz Nooks, Miss Lucy 
S. Beverley, B. W. Powell and Mrs. Helen Henry, and appointed 
March the 2d as the day when they would meet and organize the 
church. 

On February 28th, 1884, at a meeting of the congregation, held 
for the purpose of electing additional elders and deacons, Messrs. C. 
T. Starling, B. G. Witt and James L. Lambert were elected Elders, 
and D. Banks, Jr., Edwin Hodge, G. G. Ellis and J. Ed. Rankin 
were elected deacons. At the morning service held on Sunday, March 
2d, the elders and deacons elected on the previous Sabbath were or- 
dained and installed. In the afternoon the Session met at the Mis- 
sion Sunday School-room. After dismissing at their own request the 
following members who desired to join the new church, viz : Ed- 
ward Atkinson, Mrs. Nannie Atkinson, Mrs. Mary Ehrman, Mrs. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 461 

Ella Helms, Miss F. A. Briggs, Mrs. Cornelia Hill and W. J. Marshall, 
Jr., the Session then completed the organization of the Chestnut 
Hill Presbyterian. Church of ^Henderson, Ky. 

Subsequently, at various times, the session dismissed at their own 
request thirty more members to join the new church. 

In March, 1884, after protracted services, in most of which the 
pastor was assisted by Rev. J. M. Evans and Elder Hopper, the 
Synodical Evangelist, over one hundred names were added to the 
roll of the church. 

Since 1884 nothing of marked interest has transpired. The 
church has continued to do its work earnestly, systemmatically and 
well, contributing with a liberal hand not only to her own support, 
but to all the benevolent enterprises of the Synod and General As- 
sembly. 

There are on the roll at this time the names of three hundred 
members, wdth ten elders and seven deacons. 

Statistical report of members received into the church during 
the different pastorates since its reorganization in 1842 : 

During the pastorate of Rev. W. G. Allen, 2 years and 6 
months, there were 61 additions to the church, 50 on examination and 
11 by certificate. 

Rev. D. L. Gray in 6 years received 59 additions, 34 on exam- 
ination and 25 by certificate. 

Rev. J. D. Matthews in 2 years 6 months, 24 additions, 13 on 
examination and 11 by certificate. 

Rev. J. Woodbridge in 12 years, 143 additions, 67 on examina- 
tion and 76 by certificate. 

Rev. W. A. Harrison in 3 years, 108 additions, 96 on examina- 
tion and 12 by certificate. 

Rev. D. O. Davies in 16 years, 432 additions, 323 on examina- 
tion, 109 by certificates. 

PRESBYTERIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL. 

On the completion of the church building in 1842, the Sunday 
School organized by Mr. John McCullagh in the Old Seminary, was 
removed to the church. Mr. McCullagh continued to act as superin- 
tendent for several years, assisted by Thadeus D. Jones. Being so fre- 
quently away from home in the prosecution of his Missionary Sunday 
School work, Mr. McCullagh resigned (Mr. Jones having in the mean- 
time died) and Col. E. H. Hopkins was elected to and filled the office 
until 1851, when he was succeeded by W. J. Marshall. 



462 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTS, KY. 

In 1853, W. J. Marshall, having removed his membership to 
Posey Chapel Church in the country, he was succeeded by Mr. James 
E. Rankin, who filled the office until his death in 1864> The office 
of superintendent was subsequently filled, first, by Rev. Alex. Ran- 
kin and then Thomas Evans until September, 1865, when W. J. Mar- 
shall, having returned to the city, was again elected superintendent 
and has continued to fill the office to the present time, assisted, first, by 
Thomas Evans, afterwards by Prescott Burbank, James L. Lambert 
and B. G. Witt, the latter being at this time assistant superintendent. 

The Infant Class Department of this school was organized by 
Miss Nannie Rankin about the year 1861. She continued to act as 
superintendent of the class until 1866, when she was succeeded by 
Miss Florence Clark. In the year 1869 Miss Clark was succeeded 
by Mrs. Lucy Reeve, who has since remained in charge and to whose 
efficient management its present very flourishing condition is greatly 
indebted. » 

The roll of the Presbyterian Sunday School now embraces 9 
officers, 28 teachers, 220 scholars. 

FIRST CHURCH MISSION SABBATH SCHOOL. 

In the fall of 1885, the session of the First Presbyterian Church 
appointed a committee, consisting of Elders Hanna and Lambert and 
Mr. Ingram Crocket, to hold a meeting in the lower part of the city 
and see what could be done towards starting a Mission Sabbath 
School in that vicinity. They did so, and met with such encourage- 
ment that in December, they organized a school in a small frame dwel- 
ling, situated on Green Street, near the end of the Corydon Gravel 
Road. Finding the house too small, and not adapted for Sunday 
School purposes, in the spring of 1886, the session determined to buy 
a lot and build a suitable house for the accommodation of the school — 
a beautiful lot located on the corner of Green and Hancock Streets was 
purchased, and the First Church Sunday School undertook to pay the 
cost of the lot, viz. $350. The erection of a neat frame building was 
immediately begun, and in due time was completed at a cost of 
$600. In addition to being occupied by the Sunday School a prayer 
meeting is held there every Thursday night. The success of the en- 
terprise is mainly due to thefaithful labors of Dr. Wm. Hanna, Messrs. 
James Lambert and Ingram Crockett, Mrs. Jane Letcher, Mrs. J. F. 
Mayer, Mrs. Robert Posey, Mrs. J. H. Barrett, Sr., Mrs. Dr. Hanna 
and Miss Mollie Wilson. Mr. James L. Lambert is the present Su- 
perintendent, and the enrollment of the school is nine teachers and 
thirty-five scholars. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 463 

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
History fails to tell of thislls a church congregation, prior to 1831. 
It is a fact, however, that one or more ministers of that denomination 
had held service in the county. We give below the proceedings of the 
first meeting looking towards an organization : 

" At a meeting of some of the citizens of Henderson, Henderson County, 
Kentucky, called at the Union Church on the evening of the thirty-first of Oc- 
tober, 1831, for the purpose of taking into consideration the expediency of or- 
ganizing an Episcopal Church Parish, there were present: James Alves, Den- 
nis M. Threshly, James H. Lyne, James B. Pollitt, George Atkinson, Archi- 
bald Dixon, Henry M. Grant, Horace Gaither, John H. Spidel, Levi Jones 
James E. Rankin, Wm. Hart. Wm. Cunningham, James H. Green. David 
Hillyer, Samuel W. Wardlow, John G. Holloway, N. F. Ruggles, Georcre 
Gayle and Wm. F. Thompson. Dr. Levi Jones was called to the chair, wherV 
upon the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted, 

''Whereupon, We are deeply convinced that the ministry, doctrines and 
observances of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, are in 
the highest degree conformable to the Scriptures, and the practice of thL apos- 
tolic times, and, 

" Whereas, We are strongly desirous of diffusing the blessings of this 
church over the region around us, and of perpetuating them to our children 
therefore, ' 

''Resolved, That it is expedient and desirable to organize at this time an 
Episcopal Parish in this place. 

" Resolved, That the members of this meeting will associate themselves, 
and do hereby unite in an Episcopal Parish under the title of St. Paul's Church', 
Henderson, and that we will adopt and do hereby receive, and adopt, the doc- 
trine and discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States 
consenting to be governed by the constitution and cannons of the general 
convention of said church, and also by the constitution and cannons of said 
church in the diocese of Kentucky. 

^'Resolved, That the delegates to the next Diocesan Convention from this 
parish be instructed to apply for admission into the diocese of Kentucky, agree- 
ably to the provisions of said diocese in such cases. 

''Resolved, That N. F. Ruggles, Wm. F. Thompson, J. B. Pollitt George 
AtKinson, James Alves, Horace Gaither and Wm. Hart, be the Vestry of this 
parish for the current year, any three of whom shall constitute a quorum to 
transact business, and then the meeting adjourned. 

LEVI JONES, Chairman. 

The new vestry held their meetings and had preaching whenever 
It was convenient to do so. On the twenty-first day of May, 1832 
the vestry met, and on motion Rev. Nathan G. Osgood, was appointed 
Rector of the Parish. James Alves and James B. Pollitt, were ap- 
pomted a committee to wait upon him and solicit his acceptance. 



464 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The Diocesan Convention was appointed to m-^.et that year in the 
Town of Hopkinsville, on the second day of June, and on motion 
James Alves, William F. Thompson, George Gayle and Levi Jones, 
were appointed delegates to represent the Henderson Church. In the 
early part of 1833, Mr. Pollitt died, and on the twenty-ninth day of 
May, William Hart resigned as vestryman, whereupon. Judge Thomas 
Towles and Dr. Levi Jones were appointed. On the twenty-sixth day 
of December, 1833, Rev. Daniel H. Deacon, was appointed Rector of 
the Parish. 

On the second Thursday in June, 1834, the Diocesan Convention 
was held in Henderson; prior to that time, however, a committee con- 
sisting of James, Alves, Horace Gaither and Judge Thomas Towles, 
was appointed to obtain subscription for the purpose of erecting a 
church. October 9th, 1834, Dr. Levi Jones and Nathaniel F. Ruggles, 
having removed, Edmund L. Starling and Francis E. Walker, were 
appointed vestrymen in their places. Colonel Edmund H. Hopkins, 
was elected Secretary of the vestry. The Committee appointed to 
solicit subscriptions for the purpose of erecting a church building had 
been laboriously engaged at the work assigned them, and had been so 
successful as to warrant the vestry in beginning the work ; therefore, 
Judge Thomas Towles, James Alves, Horace Gaither, George Atkin- 
son and Francis E. Walker, were appointed a committee to contract 
for and superintend the erection of a suitable building for the purpose 
of church worship, in the Town of Henderson. The subscription list 
returned by the Committee is given below, not so much as a historical 
curiosity, as to show the liberality of the people in those early times : 

**Nimrod Bishop, to Thomas Toirles and D. H. Deacon: 

"For the following funds paid him towards building St. Paul's Church, 
in Henderson, Kentucky : 

*' For amount received of William Soaper, .^25 00; Larkin White, ^15 00; 
George Gayle, fi^ 00; F. E. Walker, ^^20 00; Samuel Stites, ^20 00; Walter 
Alves, ^30 00; Will. D. Allison, ^15 00; Tignal Hopkins, $6 00; James Hicks, 
$6 00; J. E. Rankin, .$12 00; D. H. Deacon, $200 00; George Atkinson, ^150 
00; Mary B. Hopkins, .^200 00; R. H. Alves, $20 00; Major Wm. Thompson, 
^30 00; James Alves, $110 00; E. H. Hopkins, !{;25 00; A. B. Barrett, ^100 00; 
Hugh Kerr, ^100 00; John Holloway, $50 00; Wm. Rankin, $5o 00; Wyatt 
Ingram, $25 00; James Rouse, $i5 00; B. G. Marshall, ^6 00; Haywood Al- 
ves, $8 00; T, Bead, $21 21 ; E. L. Starling, ^20 00; H. Gaither, $30 oo;L.W. 
Powell, ^% 00; J. B Hopkins, $15 00; Thomas Miller, $16 84; Henry Delano, 
.$ro 00; J A, Brawner, $15 00; Thomas Towles, $323 84; Owen Glass, $30- 
00; Harvey Green, ^5 00; Mary Henderson, $15 go; Walter Langley, $50 00; 
William Alves, $25 00 F. Cunningham, $15 00; Subscription paper $t,^o go. 
Making a total of twenty-one hundred and ninety dollars and ninety-five 
cents." 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 466 

The church building at that time, a handsome and commodious 
one, was built in 1837, on the corner of Main and Third cross streets, 
on a lot of ground fronting seventy feet on Main Street, and purchased 
of James W.Marshall by Judge Towles and Rev. D. H. Deacon. 
Marshall, by title bond, agreed to deed to Towles and Deacon, but 
died before the deed was made. After his death the vestry applied to 
the County Court for a deed, and on proof being made, the Court on 
the twenty-sixth day ot July, 1841, appointed Thomas Towles, Jr., 
Edmund H. Hopkins and William D. Allison, commissioners to con- 
vey the ground to the vestry of the church, and for this ground the 
church paid three hundred dollars. The church having been com- 
pleted, at a meeting of the vestry it was resolved to sell or rent the 
pews. Public notice having been given, fourteen pews were sold, 
bringing the sum of seven hundred and seventy-five dollars, payments 
to be made in five equal annual installments, and notes given for the 
tax or rents. Twenty per cent, was levied as a tax or rent in addi- 
tion to the sale price. A pew sold for fifty dollars was assessed an an- 
nual tax of ten dollars. What the object of the vestry could have 
been in selling a pew outright, is not known at this time, but that such 
a curious proceeding was a fact, the following deed is reproduced: 

''This Indenture, made the eighteenth day of April, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty eight, between Francis E.Walker, 
Thomas Towles, Edmund L. Starling. William Rankin and Henrj Delano, 
the Vestry of St. Paul's Church, in the Town of Henderson. County of Hen- 
derson, and State of Kentucky, of the first part, and Thomas- Towles, of the 
same Town, County and State, of the second part, witnesseth: That the said 
Francis E. Walker, Thomas Towles, Edmund L. Starling, William Rankin 
and Henry Delano, Vestry, as aforesaid, for and in consideration of the sum 
of sixty-five (65) dollars, to them in hand paid, at and before the unsealing 
and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, 
have bargained, sold, aliened, conveyed and confirmed, and by these presents 
they, the said Francis E. Walker, Thomas Towles, Edmund L. Starling, Wil 
Ham Rankin and Henry Delano. Vestry, as aforesaid, do bargain, alien,' con- 
vey and confirm, unto the said Thomas Towles. his heirs and assigns, forever, 
one certain pew in the Church of St. Paul's, before mentioned, known and 
designated by the number seventeen (17), to have and to hold the said pew, 
with its appurtenances, unto the said Thomas Towles, his heirs and assigns! 
forever, subject, nevertheless, to such rent or tax as the Vestry of said St. 
Paul's Church shall annually assess, or levy ; and the said Francis E. Walker, 
Thomas Towles, Edmund L. Starling, William Rankin and Henry Delano,' 
Vestry, as aforesaid, warrant a good, perfect and indefeasible title, in fee sim- 
ple (with the exception before mentioned), to the said pew, with its appurte- 
nances, against the right, title, claim and demand of all persons whatsoever 
will forever warrant and defend by these presents. ' 

30 



466 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

In testimony whereof the said Francis E. Walker, Thomas Towles, Ed 
mund L Starling. William Rankin and Henry Delano, as Vestry, as afore- 
said, have hereunto set their hands and affixed their seals the day and year 

first above written. 

F. E. WALKER, [skal.] 

THOMAS TOWLES, [seal ] 

WM. RANKIN, [SEAL.] 

E. L. STARLING, [seal.] 

HENRY DELANO, [seal ] 

On the first day of April, 1839, Easter Monday, the pewholders 
and communicants, met for the first time to elect a Vestry. Thomas 
Towles, Francii E. Walker, Edmund L. Starling, William Rankin, 
Henry Delano, James Alves and Dr. James Newland were elected. 
Edmund H. Hopkins was elected clerk of the Vestry. 

February 13th, 1841, the following act of the General Assembly 
of Kentucky was approved : 

'*Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky : 

"That Daniel H Deacon, Thomas Towles, Sr., James Alves, Edmund 
L Starling, Henry Delano and William J, Alves, be and they are hereby 
created a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of the Vestry of 
St. Paul's Church in the Town of Henderson; and they, with their succes- 
sors, shall so continue and have perpetual succession, and by that name are 
made capable in law as natural persons to sue and be sued, plead and be im 
pleaded, contract and be contracted with, answer and be answered, in any 
court of law or equity in this Commonwealth, and elsewhere; to have and 
use a common seal, and alter the same at pleasure, and to receive and hold to 
themselves, and their successors, the free hold or lease hold title to any quantity 
of land, not exceeding four acres, and the emoluments thereof, and any tene- 
ments, goods and chatties, of any kind whatever, which may be given, granted, 
devised or demised, in trust to them, for the use and benefit of the members 
and congregation of the said church, subject, however, to such limitations 
and restrictions as may be imposed or reserved by the grantor of such prop- 
erty. Provided, however, that any land acquired and held by them, by virtue 
of this act, shall be used either as a site for a church edifice or house of public 
worship, or as a burying ground, or as a place for the residence of the pastor, 
or rector, of said church, and for no other use or purpose whatever. 

" Said corporation shall have power to raise money by subscription or 
borrowing, to any amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars, and lay out the 
same in the purchase of any grounds, or the erection, improving, repairing 
and furnishing ot any houses they may deem necessary, subject to the limita- 
tions specified in the first section. 

"Said corporation shall have the power (with the advice and consent of 
a majority of persons who elect them, upon their records expressed) to sell or 
otherwise dispose of any property acquired or held by them, by virtue of this 
act, and, by their deed duly acknowledged, to transfer and convey the fee 
simple, or other title, to any such propert\ . 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 467 

" That should any vacancy in said corporation occur bj death, removal, 
resignation, or otherwise, such vacancy shall be filled by election, in the man- 
ner prescribed by the constitution ^nd canons of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church of the United Statfsof America, and of the Diocese of Kentucky, for 
the election of vestrymen. 

" The said Vestry shall not have, or exercise, under this charter, any 
power or privilege not herein expressly granted. And the Legislature shall 
have the right to amend, modify or repeal this act, but the repeal shall not de - 
prive the said Vestry of the property and effects acquired and held under this 
charter.*' 

November 7th, 1841, Rev. D. H. Deacon, having resigned, the 
vestry appointed Henry Delano and James Alves a committee to 
procure the services of Rev. Mr. Laman to preach twice a month, for 
which they agreed to pay him three hundred dollars per annum. On 
the twelfth day of June, 1842, the vestry called the Rev. William 
Jackson, of Winchester, Virginia, at a salary of six hundred dollars 
and a residence furnished. Mr. Jackson accepted the call and s-on 
after removed to Henderson. July 16th, 1842, Colonel Hopkins 
resigned the secretaryship of the vestry. August 5th, 1845, just three 
years after he had been installed as rector of the parish. Rev. Jackson 
died. He had by the purity of his character and earnest religious 
work endeared himself to all Christian people and no man's death 
was ever more lamented. The vestry passed appropriate resolutions, 
and as an additional mark of their esteem, they wore crape for thirty 
days. October 27th, 1845, Rev. John Swann, of Bladensburg, Mary- 
land, was called at a salary of seven hundred dollars and accepted. 
He soon took charge of the church and remained in charge until the 
twelfth day of April, 1850, when he resigned. A committee, consist- 
ing of James Alves and Ira Delano, was appointed to secure another 
rector. This committee reported and on the thirtieth day of October, 
1850, Rev. William C. Lewis was called, accepted and resigned on 
the eleventh day of June, 1851. Rev. W, G. H. Jones, a brilliant 
preacher, but unfortunately high tempered, was called from Acco- 
mack, Virginia, and assumed charge as rector of the parish November 
1st, 1851. The old church, which had been built seventeen years 
before, being sadly in need of general repair, on the eleventh day of 
February, 1854, a committee, consisting of R. H. Alves, L. G. 
Taylor and Colonel L. H. Lyne, was appointed to ascertain the 
probable cost and expediency of repairing the building. On March 
11th, Col. Lyne reported that the members of the church were opposed 
to adding to or repairing the church at any considerable cost. The 
committee was then instructed to ascertain what amount of money 



468 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

could be raised to be applied to the erection of a new church build- 
ing, the amount to be paid quarterly. 

As an additional inducement towards getting subscriptions, the 
vestry agreed io pro rate the amount arising from the renting of the 
pews among the subscribers to the new building. On the thirty-first 
day of March, 1855, E. L. Starling, William Rankin and Robert H. 
Alves were appointed a committee to negotiate for the sale of the 
church lot and parsonage and also for a suitable lot on which to build 
a new church and parsonage. About this time the Rector had, by his 
cranky notions and ungovernable temper, estranged most of the 
members of the congregation, and the congregation had dwindled 
down to an insignificant number of attendants. A few of the iron-nerved 
declined to surrender, and through their influence and unflinching 
devotion to the church, the rector, Rev. W. G. H. Jones, was forced 
to resign. 

April 24th, 1856, Rev. D. H. Deacon was invited to meet with 
the Bishop in reference to the spiritual and temporal affairs of the 
church, and after this conference, Rev. Deacon was again called to 
the charge. He accepted and once more the congregation became 
united, and were soon as alive again to the purpose of building a new 
church edifice, as they were some time before. The committee on 
subscription was not only active but successful in securing quite a 
handsome sum for building purposes. 

On the twenty-eight day of July, 1856, it was ordered that the lot 
on the corner of Center and Green Streets be purchased at and for 
the sum of three thousand dollars. This was done, and on the fourth 
day of March, 1857, a deed to that effect from the executors of 
James Alves, deceased, to the vestry, was recorded. The handsome 
edifice, an ornament to the city and a credit to the liberality of those. 
who contributed to its building, now standing on the corner of Green 
and Center Streets, was begun soon after the purchase of the lot. It 
was agreed that it should be fashioned after the early English, pointed 
Gothic style. At a meeting of the vestry, Rt. Rev. B. B. Smith, 
Bishop of the Diocese of Kentucky, was requested to have plans of 
such a church building drawn, including with it plans of a rectory or 
parsonage. Nine thousand dollars were set apart for the completion 
of the church building and three thousand for the parsonage. Bishop 
Smith visited England a short time after this, and while there secured 
the plans of the present church with only a slight modification. The 
vestry adopted the report of the Bishop, and soon thereafter entered 
into contract with William Temperly, of Madison, Indiana, to build 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 469 

the church. F. H. Dallam, L. G. Taylor, George Atkinson and 
William Rankin were appointed to superintend the building of this 
house. • ^ 

On the ninth day of May, 1857, thj old rectory, which was 
purchased on the eleventh day of August, 1853, for $1,500, was sold 
to D. N. Walden for $3,000. On the twenty-eight day of April, 1857, 
a majority of the members and. pewholders, at an election held for 
that purpose, authorized the sale of the old church and lot. The 
property was immediately offered for sale, but from some cause, was 
not sold until October, 1858. On October 13th, 1858, Messrs. 
William Rankin and Robert H. Alves sold to A. H. Talbott, 23 feet, 
4 inches, front on Main Street, for the sum of $1,050. On October 
15th, 1858, the remaining 46 feet, 8 inches, was sold to George M. 
Priest for $1,750. 

During the building of the new church, the congregation held 
service in the Court House. Early in 1859, the present church 
building was completed, and on Monday, twenty-fifth day of Aprilj 
1859, the pews were rented. 

October 5th, 1859, Rev. D. H. Deacon was elected rector of the 
new church. In the summer of 1859, the organ was purchased of 
Simmons & Wilcox, Boston, Mass., the same being selected by Mrs. 
Mary H. Starling. 

April 9th, 1860, the first vestry of the new church was elected, 
and was composed of the following named : Lucien Dallam, John J. 
Towles, John C. Atkinson, William Rankin, E. L. Starling, Jr., Ira 
Delano, F. E. Walker and William J. Alves. William Rankin was 
elected Senior Warden, L. C. Dallam, Junior Warden, and E. L. 
Starling, Jr., Secretary and Treasurer. 

On Sunday, May 31st, 1860, the vestry, by proper legal and 
church instruments of writing, donated the building to the purposes 
for which it was erected, and the same was received and consecrated 
by the Rt. Rev. B. B, Smith, Bishop of the Diocese, in the presence 
of a large congregation. 

Rev. D. H. Deacgn continued in charge as rector until 1867, 
when he resigned. Rev. J. Maxwell Pringle, of South Carolina, was 
called in 1868 and accepted the call. On the first day of May, 1880, 
twelve years thereafter, Mr. Pringle resigned. In June 1880, a 
committee of the vestry was appointed to select a suitable rector. On 
the fifteenth day of November, 1880, the committee reported, recom- 
mending Rev. R. S. Barrett, then employed as a State Evangelist by 
the Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas U. Dudley. Mr. Barrett was notified 



470 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and accepted the temporary rectorship until April 1st, 1881. In the 
meantinne the Bishop consented that he might become permanent rector 
and on the first day of April, he accepted the vestry's call and resigned 
his commission as Evangelist. During Mr. Barrett's rectorship, ihe 
church increased in membership and influence more rapidly than had 
ever before been known. His energy and Christian piety, his noble- 
ness of purpose and good deeds, won to him hundreds who had never 
known the beauties of the ritual of this church. As an evidence, the 
first Easter offering made on April 1st, 1881, amounted to the hereto- 
fore unheard of sum of one thousand dollars. During Mr. Barrett's 
term of service, he caused to be erected the handsome Sunday school 
and lecture room adjoining the church. This was built dunng the 
summer of 1881. It is elegantly arranged and furnished, and has 
proven a very valuable addition to the church. During the summer 
of 1884, he raised the necessary funds and caused to be built the 
handsome recess chancel so ornamental to the main church building^ 
During the fall of 1884, through his instrumentality, the entire church 
was handsomely carpeted and upholstered. During the fall of 1885 
the organ was rebuilt. 

Of course it is not the purpose of the historian to detract one 
iota of credit from the ladies and gentlemen of the congregation, for 
it was their work and liberality that brought this great work about, but 
then with a listless, unconcerned, come and go easy rector, these 
things would never have been accomplished. During Mr. Barrett's 
rectorship he become noted as a writer of church books and pamph- 
lets, and some of these reached an unprecedented circulation. He 
was very active in establishing churches throughout the surrounding 
country, and through his efforts St. Barnaba's Chapel on Washington 
and Julia Streets, was built during the fall of 1886. This chapel has 
now a large flourishing Sunday School. St. Pauls Sunday School is 
one of the largest in the city. 

On the thirty-first day of December, 1886, Mr. Barrett having 
received a call to one of the largest churches in the South, at At- 
lanta, Ga., resigned the rectorship of St. Paul's. His farewell ser_ 
mon to the congregation, whom he had served so faithfully and de- 
voutly for nearly six years, will long be remembered. In addition to 
his own congregation there were a great number of his friends from 
other denominations and others who belonged to no church at all. 
There were but few dry eyes in that congregation. 

. It then became necessary for the vestry to fill his place, and to 
that end a committee was appointed to correspond with those best 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 471 

informed and recommend some suitable person. February, 1887, the 
committee reported recommending Rev. R. W. Barnwell, of the 
Church of the "Holy Apostlg," Barnwell, South Carolina. Mr. 
Barnwell accepted the call, and on April 7th, 1887, assumed the du- 
ties of rector of the parish. Mr. Barnwell is of a family of noted 
preachers, his father before him having been one of the most noted 
in the church. 

I regret that I have not in my possession a copy of a very high 
and marked editorial testimonial to his eminent worth and great piety* 
published a short time after his departure from South Carolina, in 
one of the leading papers of Charleston, for insertion in this sketch. 
St. Pauls at this time has upon its roll of membership nearly three 
hundred. 

In the month of May, 1869, the Diocesan Convention met in St. 
Pauls and was attended by Governors J. W. Steveson and Merri- 
weather, besides other distinguished gentlemen, both of the clergy 
and laity. In May, 1887, the Diocesan Council again met in St. 
Pauls and was largely attended. 

CHRISTADELPHIAN CHURCH. 

This church was organized in 1856, but prior to its organization 
Dr. Thomas, the venerable and learned head of the church in Vir- 
ginia, visited Henderson County and preached for his people. This 
was in 1853. The followers of this particular church are few in num- 
bers, yet firm in the faith, as taught. This congregation, in addition 
to Dr. Thomas, has been visited by Revs. A. B. Magrudor, Albert An- 
derson and Wiley Jones, of Virginia ; Benjamin Wilson, of Illinois ; 
Robert Harper, of Wisconsin ; James Donalson, of Michigan, and 
Robert Roberts, editor of the Christadelphian, Birmingham, Eng- 
land. 

THE NAME, 

Christadelphian, is derived from the Greek words Christon Adelphoi — 
Brethren in Christ. They believe in the one faith taught by the 
Apostles, and believed in by Christadelphians. The one God re- 
vealed to Israel, Jesus of Nazareth a mortal man, born of Mary by 
the Holy Spirit, which constituted Him the Son of God. Put to 
death as a sin offering. Exalted to the Heavens "until the restitu- 
tion of all things." The promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 
The covenant made with David. The second (personal) coming of 
Jesus to the earth. The resurrection and judgment of the whole 
household of God (just and unjust). Immortality bestowed on those 



472 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

who are found worthy, and appointed rulers in his kingdom. Con- 
demnation of the unworthy to the second death. Jesus Christ, the 
King of the Jews and of the whole earth. The Kingdom of God re- 
established as the Kingdom of Israel in the Holy Land. Restoration 
of the Jews from dispersion. Destruction of the Devil and his works, 
Scripturally understood as sin and the lusts of the flesh, in every 
mode of manifestation. Subjugation of all Kingdoms and Repub- 
lics on earth. Duration of the Kingdom one thousand years, de- 
•stroying all enemies, including death itself. The human race essen- 
tially mortal, under the law of sin and death. Jesus, the Christ, 
through his death and resurrection, brought immortality to light. 
Salvation only on believing the things concerning the Kingdom of 
God and the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism (i.e. immersion) in water 
for a union with that name. The absolute necessity of understanding 
the Old Testament, in order to a correct New Testament faith. 

This little band of Christian workers, while positively firm in the 
faith, never push their views upon other Christian people, only when 
challenged in debate. They prefer to let the students of theology 
read and study for themselves. The congregation own a church 
building in the county, but have no regular preacher. It is only oc- 
casionally they have service, and that when some minister of the 
church happens along or comes by invitation. 

Every member of this denomination is a close reader of the 
Scriptures, and finds it his or her duty to be thoroughly posted in the 
teachings thereof. They have a church building in the Hebardsville 
precinct, seating capacity one hundred. 

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

From a very small membership and no church building only as 
far back as 1850, this denomination has grown to be one of, if not 
the hrgest, congregation in the city. There were, perhaps, not more 
than a dozen members at that time and they met and worshipped at 
different private residences. 

The Catholics of Henderson were first attended by the Rev. E. 
J. Durbin, of the " Sacred Heart " Church, Union County, and his 
assistant. A few years subsequent to 1850, it became the duty of 
the assistant pastor to visit Henderson regularly during the year. 
Mass was said for long time in various private residences, principally 
at Mr. Francis Millet's on Third Street. The most distinguished 
clergyman who ministered to the Henderson Catholics at that time 
was the Rev. Michael Bouchet, who has been for many years the 
Vicar General of the Diocese of Louisville. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 473 

During the year 1858, while the'Rev. William Bourke, now pro- 
fessor of ancient languages at St. Joseph's College, Bardstown, Ky., was 
visiting Henderson, the first an^ present brick edifice standing on the 
northwest corner of Third and Ingram Streets, was built. 

While this church was being built, the Rev. Father William 
Dunn, in September, 1861, succeeded Father Bourke, as assistant to 
the venerable Father Durbin, and soon became the first resident 
pastor of the Henderson Catholics. 

The church building was unplastered, its members few and, for 
the most part poor, but Father Dunn labored among them with a zeal 
and Christian charity that soon gained for him the good will of the 
entire community. In April, 1870, Father Dunn was removed to a 
higher field of labor, and was succeeded to the pastorate of the church 
by the Rev. Father Dom F. Crane, who was pastor only for the short 
term of seven months. He was succeeded, November, 1871, by the 
Rev. T. J. Jenkins, who held pastoral charge for one year. In 
November, 1872, the Rev. Jenkins was succeeded by the Rev. Father 
A. M. Coenen, who retained charge for two years and six months. In 
May, 1875, Rev. Coenen was succeeded by Rev. Father William 
Vanderhagen, who had charge for five years and seven months. In 
June, 1881, he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Father 
Thomas F. Tierney. 

As an evidence of the liberality of this devoted congregation of 
Christian people, during the year, 1883, a beautiful lot lying on the 
northeast corner of Second and Ingram Streets was purchased. This 
lot fronts 167 feet on Second Street and 190 feet on Ingram Street. 
It is located in one of the prettiest portions of the city and upon one 
of the most traveled thoroughfares. 

Jn May, 1886, an immense concrete foundation was laid for the 
new church edifice to be called the Church of the " Holy Name of 
Jesus," designed by the eminent architect, J. J. Egan, of Chicago. 
On Sunday, the seventeenth day of October, 1886, the corner stone 
to this immense building was laid with imposing ceremonies by the 
Rt. Rev. William G. McClosky, Bishop of Louisville. Father Dunn, 
the first pastor of the Henderson Church, preached a beautiful and 
touching sermon. The style of architecture of this church is strictly 
in keeping with the early English Gothic, outside surface of pressed 
brick with stone ornamentation. This building, when completed, will 
not only be the largest church structure in the city, but by far 
the most imposing in the State outside of the City of Louisville. 
When completed it will have cost those contributing to its building, 



474 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

between twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars. In the earnest, un- 
tiring endeavor of these people, a lesson is taught, worthy of 
emulation by other Christian people. Under the ministrations of 
Father Tierney, the congregation is fast increasing in numbers and 
influence. Connected with the church is a large school, with three 
large rooms, under the supervision of four Sisters of Nazareth, Sister 
Charlotte, Superior. There are enrolled in this school between one 
hundred and twenty-five and one hundred and fifty scholars. 

CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN. 

One of the oldest denominations in the county, but many years 
ago, from a want of activity and zeal, ceased to exist. Of late years, 
reorganized a small congregation and Sunday school, called a pastor, 
and held Sunday services until June, 1887, when their pastor resigned. 
The church is now closed. 

GERMAN METHODIST. 

Merged into the Methodist Episcopal. 

AFRICAN M. E. CHURCH. 

A large and thrifty congregation, have a commodious brick house 
of worship, built several years ago. Rev. R. W. T. James, pastor. 

ISRAELITISH CHURCH. 

For several years past, the Israelites of Henderson have held 
services eitlier in some hall employed for that purpose, or at the 
residence of some member of the congregation. In the observance 
of holy days, they are more punctilious than any of the Christian 
denominations. 

In pursuance to a call of the ladies of the church, a meeting was 
held on the fourth day of May, 1884, at the residence of Mrs. M 
Oberdorfer for the purpose of organizing a permanent Society to 
further encourage all good and noble objects of humanity, but more 
especially all worthy objects appertaining to their sacred and holy 
religion. To raise the necessary funds for the purpose of purchasing 
a lot within the limits of the city, whereon to erect a house to be used 
for the religious instruction of the Israelitish children of the citv, and 
also for the religious worship on Holy days or other times when 
deemed proper, was another desired end. A subscription lisi was 
circulated and the following amounts given : 

M. Bauldauf, $105 ; Isaac Mann, $50 ; Abraham Mann, $50 ; 
Peter Geibel, $25; M. Heilbronner, $25; H. Laucheim, $25; H. 
Schlesinger, $25 ; Mrs. B. Leiber, $25 ; S. Wertheimer, $25 ; Louis 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 475 

Oberdorfer, $25; R. Goldstein, $25; M. Levi, $25; Mrs. L. Schles 
inger, $20 ; E. and G. Starr, $20 ; M. Metz, $10 ; E. M. Pollack, 
$10; Dr. Nathan Oberdorfer, $10 ; Mrs. H. Oberdorfer, $10; George 
Metz, $5 ; Nathan Oberdorfer, $5 ; Jos. Metz, $5 ; M. Wiener, $5. 

Since that time, indeed, within the last two years, the Israelites 
have purchased a lot for church purposes in the city, and a beautiful 
cemetery site on the Henderson and Owensboro road, two and a half 
miles out of the city. 

FOURTH STREET COLORED BAPTIST. 

The history of this church is brief ; never the less, it goes to show 
how much can be accomplished by energy, earnest work, and united 
purposes. 

The church was organized February 15th, 1877, by Elder R. D. 
Peay, pastor of the White Baptist, assisted by Judge P. H. Lockett. 
It had a membership at that time of forty-four members, and now 
numbers three hundred and twenty-five affiliating members. 

On February 15th, 1877, the same day of organization Elder 
Lewis Norris was called to the pastorate and accepted the charge 
Just here it may be well to go further back in the life of this congre- 
gation. Originally, there was but one Colored Baptist Church — the 
First Baptist. In 1867, Elder Norris was called from Bardstown, 
Kentucky, to take charge of the First Baptist Congregation. He ac- 
cepted the same year, coming to Henderson and entering upon the 
duties of the charge. For ten years, he labored with this congrega- 
tion, and during the time purchased the lot on the corner of Elm and 
Washington Streets, and. commenced raising money for the purpose 
of building the two story brick, now standing as a monument to the 
liberality and industry of the colored people. He procured the plan 
and had raised over eight hundred dollars for building purposes, when 
some dissatisfaction arose in the congregation, and he resigned charge 
of the church He was then called to Bowling Green, but at the in- 
stance of several whites, declined the call, and remained in Hender- 
son. About this time forty-four members of the First Baptist se- 
cured letters of withdrawal, and immediately rented the Old Cumber- 
land Presbyterian church building, on Fourth Street, and organized 
what is now known as the Fourth Street Church. Elder Norris was 
called to this charge, and accepted. He immediately applied his 
whole time and energies to building up the new church, first buying 
from Mr. Joseph Adams a lot on the corner of First and Adams Street. 



476 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The Deacons of the church, Ephraim Marshall, Randall Bibbs, George 
Towles, Stephen Swope, Elias Cabell, Smith Posey and Thomas Payne, 
gave him every assistance, and worked with him in harmony and gen- 
eral good will. This and the continued unceasing and untiring labors 
of the pastor, deacons and members had the effect to very materially 
increase the membership of the church, and the prospect of soon 
building for themselves a temple they could call their own, subscrib- 
ing liberally themselves, and being materially aided by their white 
friends. Elder >J orris and his deacons soon found themselves in a 
condition — financially as they thought, to undertake the building pro- 
posed. In 1879, the house was built and roofed in, and was occu- 
pied by the congregation in 1880. The church is a large brick with a 
towering cupalo, and a deep toned bell to correspond. The congre- 
gation have never had but one pastor. They have had many ups and 
downs, and are yet finacially embarassed, but hope by the blessings of 
a kind providence, to extricate themselves from all entanglements 
during this and the coming year. 

Note — On the the third Sunday of September, 1884, the hand- 
some and imposing church edifice above referred to was burned about 
eleven o'clock in the morning, and the congregation turned out into 
the street. 

Since the burning of the church, to-wit : on the eighteenth day 
of June, 1887, Elder Norris died and his congregation scattered to the 
four winds. 

THE AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The African Baptist Church of Jesus Christ, in Henderson, Hen- 
derson County, State of Kentucky, began in log cabins, corn, and to- 
bacco fields ; the members assembled in barns, and under shade trees, 
to worship The Almighty Father. In 1840, they were admitted and re- 
ceived to membership in the '' White Baptist Church," and baptised 
by Rev. H. B. Wiggin, and there provisions were made for them un- 
til 1845 ; then a committee of five white brethren was appointed to or- 
ganize an "African Baptist Church." Seventy members of colored, 
with white brethren and pastor met in the basement story of the pres- 
ent Baptist Church on the eighth of June, 1845. Rev. G. Matthews 
preached a sermon from Rev. 3, Ch. 8 vs. " Behold I have set before 
thee an open door, and no man can shut it." He explained the com- 
mission given the church, and the nature of the Kingdom of Jesus 
Christ. At the close, Rev. Franklin, of the committee suggested Rev. 
F. Cunningham moderator, and W. H. Cunningham clerk. The ar- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 477 

tides of Faith and Rules of Decorum were read and explained, the 
congregation accepted, and agreed to live in accordance with the 
teachings of the word of God. James Towles and Henry Alves, were 
chosen deacons, F. Cunningham, naoderator, announced to them that 
you are now an African Baptist Church, to work by the directions of 
the committee. 

Rev. George Matthews, pastor of the White Baptist Church, rose 
and offered an appropriate prayer to the Almighty God, that he would 
ratify in Heaven what was done on ea^rth to his Honor and Glory, and 
then the hand of recognition was extended by the committee. 

Rev. Willis Walker, who was a slave, was chosen pastor, and was 
afterward bought from his owner by the colored church at a cost of 
five hundred and twenty dollars. Rev. Walker preached as a Free- 
will Baptist for many years preceding his connection with Missionary 
Baptist, his labors being crowned with great success. 

In October, 1846, the church held a protracted meeting, which 
resulted in the conversion of fifty persons. In 1849, The Holy Spirit 
was poured out upon the people and a number of seventy were obedi- 
ent to the Faith of Jesus Christ. 

In 1852 Rev. Walker was joined by Rev. M. Taylor and Major 
Towles, and when the associational report of 1857 was made up, it 
was found that " The African Baptist Church " had increased to three 
hundred and seventy members, the entire membership of Henderson 
County being centered in this church. 

Rev, Walker's last work, he had prayed to his Heavenly Father 
to permit him to be found at his post when death comes, so he was in 
the water and was baptising when the angel of death said unto him, 
'^ well done, good and faithful servant," and after a period of twenty- 
four years labor, he returned to his Father's embrace, and many sad 
hearts mourned the loss. The church finding herself without a pastor, 
invited Rev. Henry Green, of Danville, Kentucky, to visit here, and 
he came and pastored three years. 

Charles Jenkins was licensed in 1860. In the spring of 1865, 
Rev. Washington Stander, was called and served two years. On the 
nineteenth day of August, 1866, thiity-three members were dismissed 
by letter to constitute the Race Creek Baptist Church, six miles north 
of the city. 

For twenty-one years, the congregation had been worshiping in 
the basement story of the White Baptist. The great war between 
the North and South had just closed, and the colored people were 



478 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

thrown upon their own resources, with not a dollar to sustain them- 
selves, and the church finding itself without a house in which to wor- 
ship God. Suspicion ran high, prejudice and passions were the topics 
of the day, the thoughts of a dark prospect seem to chill the blood in 
every vein, but remembering the text of Rev. Matthews, " Behold, I 
have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it," a reg- 
ular meeting for business was held on the twenty-third day of January, 
1866, and after much discussion, a committee was appointed consist- 
ing of Thomas Gains, Sr., Peter Harris, John Mackey, Henry Smith 
and Charles Livers, with instructions to secure a place for worship. 

At a business meeting February 1st, 1866, the Committee re- 
ported success, then the following brethren were chosen Trustees, 
Charles Livers, Thomas Gains, Sr., and John Mackey, and on the 
eighth day of February, 1866, entered into contract with E. W. Wor- 
sham for the old Methodist Church, corner of Elm and Washington 
Streets, with a seating capacity of more than four hundred persons, 
for a consideration of $3,030. 

The first Lord's day in June, 1866, the congregation was asked 
to remain after preaching for the purpose of organizing a Sabbath 
School, after explanation given by G. H. Grant, Charles Livers. Paris 
McBride and others, it was agreed to proceed to the organization of a 
Sabbath School, and on motion G. H. Grant was chosen Superinten- 
dent, Paris McBride, assistant Superintendent; Charles Livers, Secre- 
tary ; and George King, Treasurer. 

In 1867, the church being without a pastor, G. H. Grant was 
chosen to supply the pulpit. 

On the twenty-third day of October, 1867, Rev. Lewis Norris 
was called to take pastoral charge of the church, and he served eight 
years. During his administration, several new churches were organ- 
ized, and several preachers ordained to the work of the Gospel Minis- 
istry. In September, 1867, M. Taylor was ordained to the ministry ; 
in 1870, on the ninth day of October, G. H. Grant was ordained ; in 
1871, March 10th, five members were dissmissed to constitute St. 
Paul's Baptist Church, in Corydon, twelve miles southwest of the city; 
April 6th. eighteen members were dismissed to constitute the St. John 
Baptist Church, nine miles west of the city; November 4th, nine mem- 
bers were dismissed to constitute the New Hope Baptist Church, 
seven miles south of the city ; in 1871, May 1st, thirteen members 
were dismised to constitute the Walnut Hill Baptist Church, five miles 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 479 

southeast of the city ; in 1872, Joseph Bell and Primus Burris, were 
ordained to the ministry. 

In 1871, Rev. Lewis Norri% baptised one hundred and eighty 
persons, who were added to the church, and it was ascertained that 
the seating capacity of the house would not accommodate the congre- 
gation, and so $1200 were expended in building an addition, which 
seated seven or eight hundred persons. 

In November, 1876, Elder G. H. Grant was chosen to take 
pastoral charge of the church. Finding it, and the Sabbath School, 
retrograding from its previous high standing, ihe church greatly con- 
fused, and Sabbath School numbering from ten to fifteen pupils, it 
was with reluctance he entered upon the work. The first official act 
of the church under Elder Grant's administration was the granting of 
forty-three members letters of dismission, on the ninth day of Febru- 
ary, 1877, to constitute the Fourth Street Baptist Church, in this 
city, giving them $250. 

The members having agreed to erect a brick edifice to the honor 
of God's name, the officers suggested a plan to raise the money, 
which was heartily endorsed by all the members, and they raised from 
$60 to $100 per week. The Sabbath School increased to two hun- 
dred and thirty scholars. A resolution to purchase an organ was 
highly approved, and J. K. Mason was appointed to select the organ. 
A committee of ladies were appointed to solicit means for that pur- 
pose. In a few days the amount needed (one hundred and twenty- 
five dollars) was in hand. Peace and tranquility prevailed in all the 
departments of the church. 

Rev. C. R. Ware was called to the pastoral charge, January 1st, 
1879. He found the church in a fine working condition, both spirit- 
ually and temporally. 

In the spring of 1879, the old frame building was removed from 
the lot, then the foundation for the new building was laid at once. 
The building committee were brethren of honesty, wisdom and energy. 
They were as follows : Junius Sneed, Thomas Gaines, Sr., Henry 
Glass, Peter Harris, Erasmus McCormick, J. A. Carr, J. E. McBride, 
B. R. Hughes, Winston Harris, Michael Brown, John K. Mason, and 
W. F. Gaines, Secretary. The dimensions of the new building is 
45x75, two stories high, the upper story eighteen feet, basement eight 
feet. The corner stone of the new building was laid on the fourth 
of July, 1879. The contractors were three or four months building 
the house, and during that time the congregation was occupying the 



480 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTV, KY. 

Benevolent Aid Society's Lodge room in Woodruff Hall. On the 
fifteenth day of September, 1879, the congregation removed to their 
new house of worship, which was so far completed at a cost of $4,900. 
Rev. P. H. Kennedy was called and entered upon pastoral duty, Jan- 
uary 1st, 1881. He found the congregation worshipping in the base- 
ment story of the building, the second story to be plastered, windows 
to be put in, and to be furnished with seats and pulpit. The people, 
yet led by a working spirit to complete their edifice, responded to 
every call until it was finished, at a cost of about $7,050. The fol 
lowing persons are filling the office of deacons: J. E. McBride, H. 
Glass, J. Sneed, Thomas Gaines, Sr., Peter Harris, R. McCormick 
and J. A. Carr. 

HENDERSON COUNTY BIBLE SOCIETY, 

Was recognized as an auxilliary of the American Bible Society, in 
February, 1831. Its first officers were Captain Daniel McBride, 
President; Levi Jones, Corresponding Secretary, and Wyatt H. In- 
gram, IVeasurer. 

From February, 1831 to March 1883, the time this was written, 
the American Bible Society had received from the Henderson County 
Society, on purchase account, $4,331.09, and as donations for the 
general work, $220. Dr. Pinckney Thompson has been annually 
elected for fifteen years President of the Henderson County Society. 
The present officers are Pinckney Thompson, President; William S. 
Johnson, Secretary; O. W. Rash, Treasurer; Revs. R. W. Barnwell, 
St. Pauls, D. O. Davies, First Presbyterian, Angus McDonald, Second 
Presbyterian, E. W. Bottomly, Methodist, William B. Taylor, Christian, 
Vice Presidents; Members of the Board, L. C. Dallam, James L- 
Lambert, Edward Atkinson, William Elliot, J. D. Robards. 



SECRET SOCIETIES. 



MASONIC. 

BY CAMPBELL H. JOHNSON. 

On the nineteenth day of September, Anno Lucis 5,804, Anno 
Domini 1804, a charter was granted, appointing Innis G. Brent, Mas- 
ter ; John Posey, Senior Warden, and Nathan Anderson, Junior War- 
den, together with all such other brethren as were then living in Hen- 
derson, a just, true, regular and warranted Lodge of Free and Ac- 
cepted Masons, by the name, title and designation of " Jerusalem 
Lodge No. 9." All of the rights and powers incident to charters of 
this kind were conferred. The charter itself is too lengthy for inser- 
tion, but there are hundreds of glorious memories clustering around 
its faded face. This ancient document, which once graced the walls 
of a primitive log cabin, has passed through so many various changes 
it has become, in fact, a precious heritage, dear, indeed, to the Lodge. 
It now adorns the frescoed walls of the present handsome temple, 
the observed and most respected of all the gilded ornaments or re- 
minders of Masonic ties surrounding it. This charter was signed by 
George M. Bibb, Grand Master, and attested by Daniel Bradford, 
Grand Secretary, and was issued from Lexington. 

On the ninth day of October Grand Master Bibb authorized and 
commanded the Worshipful Daniel Bradford and Jonathan Taylor, or 
either of them, together with such other true and past masters as 
could be assembled, to install the officers named in the charter issued 
for Jerusalem Lodge No. 9, to be holden at Hendersonville, as he called 
it. The wording of this charter is so peculiar to itself, and differs so 
much from those now issued to the Lodges from the Grand Lodge, 
that Past Grand Master Rob Morris, in his history of Free Masonry 
in Kentucky, published in 1859, refers to it as follows : 

31 



482 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

" The form of charter in use in Kentucky at this period (1800 to 1809), 
will be seen in the literal copy of that still used by Jerusalem Lodge No. 9. at 
Henderson, Kentucky. The original charter of Lexington Lodge No 1 was 
destroyed by fire, that of Paris No 2 surrendered in 1802, that of George- 
town No 3 forfeited in 1804, that of Washington No. 6 forfeited in 1806, that 
of Harmony No 7, at Natchez, Mississippi, forfeited in 1814." 

Consequently, Jerusalem No. 9 is the fifth oldest Lodge on the 
rolls of the Grand Lodge, and its charter is likely the only original 
one in existence that is perfectly legible. In pursuance with the 
charter and proxy, a meeting was held on October 24ih, A. L. 5,804, 
A. D. 1804. There were present, Innis B. Brent, Master Lexington 
Lodge No. 1; John Posey, Senior Warden Hiram Lodge No 4; Na- 
than D. Anderson, Junior Warden of Abram Lodge No. 8 ; James 
Wardlow, visiting brother from Solomon Lodge No. 5, Tyler /r^ tem.\ 
Joseph Ficklin, visiting brother from Solomon Lodge No. 5; James 
Murray, visiting brother from Abrams Lodge No. 8 ; Hutchins G. 
Barton, visiting brother from Hiram Lodge No. 24, North Carolina. 
Worshipful Daniel Bradford, holding the before mentioned proxy 
from the Grand Master, rode on horseback from Lexington to Hen- 
derson, to carry out the order of the Grand Master. On the day 
above mentioned, he met the aforenamed officers mentioned in the 
charter, he proceeded to open a Lodge and install, and agreeably to 
ancient form installed them, and they were severally saluted as such. 
William Featherston was thereupon appointed Secretary and Philip 
Barbour Treasurer, who were respectively installed. It was then di- 
rected by the meeting that the charter of Jerusalem Lodge, and the 
dispensation under which Daniel Bradford installed the ofificers, be 
recorded at full length in the record book. Thereupon, a petition 
was received, signed Ambrose Barbour, praying to be initiated into 
the mysteries of Masonry. A ballot was taken and resulted in Mr. 
Barbour's election, and he was then and thereupon initiated accord- 
ing to ancient form. It was then ordered that Philip Barbour, John 
Posey, Nathan D. Anderson, Innis B. Brent and William Feather- 
ston — any three of whom to act — be appointed a committee to draft 
By-Laws for the government of the Lodge. The Lodge was then 
adjourned. Signed, Innis B. Brent, Master, attested by William 
Featherston, Secretary. 

It will be noticed that great changes have taken place in the con- 
duct of Masonic Lodges in the past seventy-five or eighty years — for 
instance, it was a custom then to elect officers twice a year ; now, only 
once. They not infrequently received a petition, referred it, had it 
reported, balloted for the candidate, and conferred, in some instances, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 483 

all three degrees at one meeting, with the simple statement, as the 
minutes in parenthesis, (He being generally known), (He living at a 
distance and not able to attend Lodge regularly, etc., etc.). Such 
things are now unknown and unthought of. Then, in those days, the 
business of the Lodge was done in the first degree. Entered appren- 
tice Masons enjoyed all of the privileges of Masonry. Now it is not 
so, only Master Masons enjoy the rights of voting for officers and 
other privileges of members. Only Master Masons are entitled to 
Masonic burial and Masonic charity as a right. We give a form of 
petition in 1804, which differs largely from those now used : 

"To the Master. Wardens and Brethren of Jerusalem Lodge No. 9: 

'* The petition of Adam Rankin humbly showeth that your petitioner, be- 
ing desirous of obtaining part of the rights, Hghts and benefits of Free Ma- 
sonry, prays to be initiated into your Honorable Society, and, as in duty bound, 
will ever pray. 

"November 3d, 1804 ADAM RANKIN." 

As before stated, petitions were received, balloted for, reported 
on, and all three of the degrees conferred on one and the same even- 
ing. In fact, it is known where five degrees were conferred on one 
evening, and the Lodge adjourned at nine o'clock. That was as- 
suredly quick work as compared with the present ritual. 

I here give a literal copy of several bills presented to the Lodge : 

1804. JERUSALEM LODGE, NO. 9. 

December 27. To Joseph Fuquay, Dr. 

To 53 suppers ©27 £ ^ 60 

" 15 dinners @j Ye i 26 

*' 9 ft)s. Loaf Sugar @6 2 ^4 o 

*' 12 qts. French Brandy @ 12 i 20 

•' 2 qts. Whiskey @ 2^ o 46 

" 4NutMegs@^ o 90 

£\6 8 o 
Here is another of the same kind : 

JUNE 28th, 1806. 

Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9. To Joseph Reed, Dr. 

July 3. To pint French Brandy ^o 5 o 

"Candles o 12 3^ 

" Paper o 08 

Mays. ** Candles o I2 1^ 

" " quart Whiskey o 2 5 

April 12 " quart Whiskey o 25 

'• Candles o 12 1^ 

June 24 " pint Whiskey, at Fuquay's 025 

" " Tyling four stated Lodge nights 400 



484 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

And this : 

DECEMBER 27, 181I. 

Jerusalem Lodge, No 9. ToC. Brent, Dr. 

27th December, To 12 IJowles Toddy ©46 each ^^i 50 

*• " Dinners of Masons 36 6 00 

DECEMBER 30, l8l2. 

Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9.- To C Brent, Dr. 

December To Supper and Refreshments for 23 Masons $11 50 

♦♦ " Dinner " " "20 " 1250 

" * ' 4 Bowles Toddy 400 

$28 00 
Another bill to John Spidel for dinners, whiskey and toddies, and 

one to Wm. Sandefur for playing the fiddle, with a number of others 

of similar character, go to make up the debit side of the Treasurer's 

account from 1804 to 1820. 

I find, however, that in late years, the brethren became more 

fastidious. Brandy and wine became too common and strong, at 

least, so I judge from the following account : 

FEBRUARY, 1844. 

Masonic Lodge. Li acc't with Boht. Clark, 

February 27th Candles, 3, (April 17th, ditto, 2 $i oo 

April 22d. Ditto 3, 10 Bucket 2/^ 97 

January 17th, I lb Candles, 3, (21st) I lb ditto 2 100 

♦• 24th, I box Claret Wine, 2^ 2 75 

15^72 
While looking over musty rolls of accounts, I find one that is 
worthy of mention by way of contrast with similar ones of the present 
times. Our delegate to the Grand Lodge meetings now has a swift 
ride of a few hours by rail or a more pleasant ride of two days by 
boat at a trifling cost. His entire expense for actual travel and hotel 
bill is about $20. However, he receives from the Grand Lodge from 
$30 to $36. 

In 1805, Dr. Adam Rankin went overland from Henderson to 
Lexington, on horseback, entailing much fatigue and at a loss of 
many days from his business and home. We find the bill for his ex- 
penses, dated September 4th, 1805, $37.50, the actual outlay for 
meals for himself and horse on the way and while in Lexington. Now 
our delegates fight against any reduction of their mileage and per diem, 
while they receive nearly double the actual outlay, to ,say nothing of 
the pleasure of travel as compared with eighty years ago. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 485 

Another paper falls under my eyes, which more closely links the 
past with the present. Quite a number of our membership call 
vividly to mind the stately forn^of Colonel Edmund Hopkins, and a 
goodly number have sat in lodge with him. His petition, written in 
his own hand, is among the much prized j^apers of our Lodge. It 
reads : 

Henderson, December 26th, 1820. 

'' To the worshipful, the Grand Master, Wardens and Brethren of Jerusalem 

Lodge, No. 0, Kentuck//: 

"Your petitioner requests that he may become a member of your honor- 
able body if he is found worthy; his age is twenty-one years. 

"Yours Respectfully, 

"EDMUND H. HOPKINS." 

The plain blunt manner, characteristic of Brother Hopkins, shows 
itself in his petition, while it also shows he was unacquainted at the 
time with the proper title for the officers. In speaking of Brother 
Hopkins, I was reminded of a story which was quite frequently told 
when I was first made a Mason. In a contraversy with another as to 
the particular verbage of part of the work, and of our pas*: masters, af- 
ter some excited efforts to convince his opponent that he was ri^ht, 
he at length said "Well, //^;z^w f am right. I got it from Sol. Size- 
more, he got it from Colonel Hopkins and Colonel Hopkins got it 
from King Solomon." This was a clincher and the discussion at once 
ended. 

Jerusalem Lodge No. 9 has had an eventful career. The Grand 
Lodge of Kentucky was formed October 16th and 17th, 1800, at Lex- 
ington, Kentucky. William Murray was the first Grand Master. The 
Lodges that formed the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, were Lexing- 
ton, No. 2; Paris, No. 35; Georgetown, No. 46; Hiram, No. 57; and 
Solomon, late Abrahams, under dispensation, all holding charters or 
dispensations from Virginia. When they formed the Grand Lodge of 
Kentucky, they took new members, beginning with Lexington, No. 1^ 
and soon. At the eleventh grand communication Dr. Adam Rankin, 
of Jerusalem Lodge No. 9, acted as Grand Treasurer. In 1813, M. 
W. Fisher and Ambrose Barbour, offered apology for not being repre- 
sented, which was accepted— I find no report for 1817, '19 and '20. 
Then none for 1831, '32, '33, '34 and 35, when the charter was ar- 
rested, consequently, for 1836, '37, '38, '39, '40, '41 and '42, which in- 
tervened between the arrest and restoration of charter the lodge was 
unauthorized to work. From the record Brother E. H. Hopkins was 
master from 1826 to '37, inclusive, consequently he presided at the 



486 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

last meeting held previons to arrest of charter which was held on Sat- 
urday December 27th, 1834, at which time officers were elected as fol- 
lows : Ji.. H. Hopkins, Master ; John D. Anderson, S. W. ; William 
Soaper, J. W. ; W. R. Abbott, Secretary ; W. F. Thompson, Treasurer. 
As stated, the Lodge held no meeting after this until November 
28th, 1842. I find in the old papers, the correspondence between 
Brother Hopkins and Brother Philip Swigert, the then Grand 
Secretary, relative to resuming work by Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9. Col. 
Hopkins addressed a lengthy communication to Philip Swigert, Grand 
Secretary, in regard to again resuming Masonic work and asking for 
information as to the mode of procedure. The Grand Secretary 
responded by authorizing the Lodge to meet, provided they yet had 
the charter, and resume work as though nothing had occurred. In 
conformity with these instructions, a meeting was held November 
28th, 1842. Present : E. Hopkins, Master; J. D. Anderson, S. W. ; 
Wm. Soaper, J. W. ; W. F. Thompson, Treasurer ; A. G. Saunders, 
Secretary />r£7 ^em. ; J. W. Williams, S. V>. pro tern. ; B. W. Winston, J. 
D. pro i€??i. ; Jacob B. Hopkins; S. V. Tyler; Brothers Dr. Owen 
Glass, late of No. 9 ; James B. Newland, of St. David's Lodge, No- 
52, Edinburg, Scotland; Moses Morgan, late of No. 9; Henry B. 
Dane ', of Lodge No. 2, Texas ; P. B. Matthews, of St, Joseph Lodge 
No. 155, Virginia ; Elias Oberdorfer, of Tadmon Lodge, No. 108 ; Bl 
M. Winston, of Good Faith Lodge, No. 95 ; J. W. Williams, of St. 
John's Lodge, No. 32, Philadelphia. At this meeting. Brothers New- 
lands, Glass, Winston, Matthews, Oberdorfer, Morgan, Dance and 
Saunders petitioned for membership. 

From this time, the Lodge prospered in a satisfactory manner, 
I find on July 24th, 1843, a new code of By-Laws adopted. In the 
main, thev are what we now have. While the ritualistic work of 
Masonry has changed but little in the last eighty-three years, the laws 
governing them have been very materially changed In the early 
history of Jerusalem Lodge, No. 9, the member who dared to appear 
in Lodge intoxicated or the member who used profane language, by 
order of the Worshipful Master was subject to be led out of the room, 
never to return until satisfactory confessions had been made and to 
testify, by his general conduct, a sincere regret for his behavior. No 
member in arrears for any sum for twelve months was allowed to vote 
in any case whatever or eligible to any office in the Lodge until the 
amount had been paid, and if in arrears for two years, he was subject 
to expulsion. Now all eyes are closed, and offender No. 1 frequently 
holds prominent places in the Lodge, Now a prernium is almost 
placed upon non-payment of dues, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 487 

Among those whose names are found upon the books of Jerusalem 
Lodge, I find it has at all times had the best men in the community. 
Going back many years we fi|]d : Innis Brent, Dr. Adam Rankin, 
Philip Barbour, Ambrose Barbour, John Posey, Nathan D. Anderson, 
Thos. Towles, William Soaper, John D. Anderson, E. H. Hopkins, 
George Lyne, Frank Stites, Richard Stites, John H. Barret, D. R. 
Burbank, Dr. Owen Glass, James ^^'ilson, and a host of others, I 
fail now to call to mind, and so on down to the present day our most 
active business men, our best citizens are numbered with the mystic 
tie. 

I have spoken of changes having taken place in the law govern- 
ing Lodges. I now come to another change. For quite a number of 
years, some of the degrees now under the exclusive control of Chapters 
of Royal Arch Masons, were then conferred by the Lodges. A copy 
of the minutes of a meeting held in 1804 will show the truth of this 
statement. The following is a copy : 

" At a called meeting of the Marked Jerusalem Lodge. No. 9, held at 
their lodge room in the Town of Henderson, on Monday, the twelfth day of 
November. 1804, A. D., 5804- A. L, Present : Philip Barbour, W. M. M . ; 
Ambrose Barbour, S. W.; Innis B. Brent, J. W. and J. D. pro tern ; John 
Posey. Secretary; Wm. Featherstone, S. D pro tern.; Brother Nathan D. 
Anderson, Treasurer, the Lodge being opened in the Mark Master degree 
in ancient form. 

"Petitions were severally received from James Latham. Ad Rankin and 

H D Gwatkin, requesting to be initiated into the mysteries of this Lodge, 

whereupon a ballot being taken and the candidates unanimously received, 

there were several prepared and iniatiated into the mysteries of Master Mark 

Masons in due form. The Lodge was then closed in due form and harmony at 

nine o'clock. 

PHIL. BARBOUR. 

JOHN POSEY, Secretary. 

I stated that from the reorganization of the Lodge in 1842, that 
it prospered satisfactorially. For many years Jerusalem Lodge had 
a membership ranging from eighty to one hundred and fifteen. 

The crowning glory of this old Lodge is, that for eighty years, 
with an income averaging four hundred dollars per year, never spend- 
ing money lavishly on fine paraphernalia or fine Lodge rooms, she 
to-day has but a trifle in her Treasury, showing that she has been true 
to the principles of charity as taught in the greatest of all books. 
Consequently, when the Masonic Widows' and Orphans' Home at 
Louisville called for aid. Old Jerusalem gave a cheerful response and 
gave more than any Lodge in the State to that grand charity, never 



488 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

casting a single vote against it and never placing a single beneficiary 
within its walls. Such in brief is a poor history of this grand, old 
Lodge. 

We wish we could give a list of all who have worshipped at its 
altar and met within its holy precints, but we content ourselves with 
giving the following list of Masters and the year they served : 

1804, Innis B. Brent; 1805, John Posey; 1806, Philip Barbour 
1807, Ambrose Barbour; 1808, M. W Fisher; 1809, Thos Bell 
1810, Adam Rankin; 1811, Jas. C. Wardlow ; 1812, Thos. Towles 
1813, Ambrose Barbour ; 1814, Samuel A. Bowen ; 1815, Ambrose Bar 
bour, 1816, '17, '18, Samuel A. Bowen; 1819, James Wilson; 1820 
Samuel A. Bowen; 1821, Hugh Brent; 1822, John Eauchus ; 1823 
William Soaper ; 1824, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, E. H 
Hopkins ; 1835, Charter arrested, E. H. Hopkins, Master ; 1842 
Charter restored, E. H. Hopkins, Master, 1843, E. H. Hop' ins 
1844, John D. Anderson; 1845, '46, E. H. Hopkins; 1847, John P 
Wilson; 1848, '49, E. H. Hopkins; 1850, Wm. H. Cunningham 
1851, Jas. J. Ferree ;1852, John T. Bunch; 1853, F. H. Dallam 
1854, E. G. Hall ; 1855, Wm. J. Dallam ; 1856, '57, L. F. Jones 
1858, E. G. Hall; 1859, Wm. H. Miller; 1860, Sol. S. Sizemore 
1861, '62, E. G. Hall ; 1863, '64, Sol. S. Sizemore ; 1865, '66, Robert 
T. Glass; 1867, '68, P. H. King ; 1869, S. K. Sneed ; 1870, '71, W. 
S. Johnson ; 1872, S. H. Lambert; 1873, '74, C. H. Johnson ; 1875, 
'76, B. G. Witt; 1877, '78, Jac. Peter; 1879, '80, Jas. L. Lambert; 
1881, Phelps Sasseen; 1882, P. H. King; 1883, F. L. Turner; 1884, 
Phelps Sasseen ; 1885, '86, W. J.Marshall, Jr.; 1887, C. H.Johnson. 

This Lodge has been singularly honored in the election of two of 
its members to the highest office in the State, " Worshipful Cirand 
Master," Campbell H. Johnson, October, 1877, and Bernard G. Witt, 
October 21st, 1885. 

HENDERSON ROYAL ARCH CHAPTER NO. 65 

Received its charter, dated at Lexington, Kentucky, October 14th, 
1857, authorizing E. G. Earnheart, E. H. Hopkins, William Sjaper, 
and others, to meet as a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, confer the 
degrees usually conferred in such bodies, and transact such business 
as may be proper. This document is signed by Marcus M. Tyler, 
Grand High Priest; William H. Forsyth, Deputy Grand High Priest ; 
William M. Samuel, Grand King; Thomas Todd, Grand Scribe ; Philip 
Swigert, Grand Secretary. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 489 

ORGANIZATION. 

A meeting to organize Henderson Chapter, " under dispensation,' 
was held in the City of Henderson on Saturday, the eighteenth day 
of July, 1857. There were present M. E. Marcus M. Tyler, Grand 
High Priest; E., R. M. Hathaway, King pro tern.; E., Thomas Poin- 
dexter, Scribe pro tern.; Comp. Fred. H. Skinner, C. Yi. pro tan.; 
Henry F. Turner, P. S. pro tern.; E. G. Earnhart, R. A. C. pro tern.; 
E H. Hopkins, G. M. Third Vail; William Soaper, G. M,. Second 
Vail ; William Randolph, G. M., First Vail ; Rev. John D. Hender- 
son, S. and T.; Companion J. Woodbridge, R. A. M.; Most Excel- 
lent High Priest Marcus M. Tyler installe M. E.; E. G. Earnhart, H. 
P.; E., E. H. Hopkins, King; E., William Soaper, Scribe. High 
Priest Earnhart then appointed the following companions ; Thomas 
Poindexter, C. H.; Henry F. Turner, P. S.; John W. Crockett, R. A. 
C; John D. Anderson, G. M., Third Vail; A, J. Anderson, G. 
M., Second Vail; J. Woodbridge, G. M., First Vail. 

The first meeting of Henderson Royal Arch Chapter No. 65, 
after receiving its charter, was held on the sixteenth day of Febru- 
ary, 1858. The first election of officers, under the charter, was held 
June 24th, 1858. On the sixth day of December, 1858, the death 
of Past Grand High Priest Marcus M. Tyler was announced, and 
Companions Edmund H. Hopkins and William H. Miller appoint- 
ed a committee to draft suitable resolutions expressive of the feelings 
of the Chapter at this sad announcement. There were breaks in the 
record up to 1862. From that time I find them pretty complete. 

At a meeting held August 4th, 1862, the death of Companion 
Andrew Clark was announced. Owing to the war there were no more 
meetings held until January 17th, 1866. On the seventeenth day of 
January of that year a meeting was called and the following officers 
were present: E. G. Hall, H. P.; William Soaper, King; W. 
H. Sandefur, Scribe ; F. B. Cromwell, C. of H.; J. Woodbridge, P. 
S.; L. F. Jones, R. A. C; S. H. Lambert, G. M., Third Vail; B. M. 
Winston, G. M., Second Vail; William Payne, G. M., First Vail; F. 
B. Cromwell, Secretary ; K. Geibel, Guard. High Priest Hall stated 
the object of the meeting to be the reorganization of the Chapter 
and the election of officers. The following were then duly elected : 
E. G. Hall, High Priest; P. Thompson, King; W. H. Sandefur, 
Scribe. June 24th, 1867, the regular election was held, and the fol- 
lowing named were chosen : S. K. Sneed, High Priest; E. L. Star- 
ling, King, and George Gayle, Scribe, These officers were installed 



490 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

publicly by Grand High Priest Joseph H. Brahman, at the Presbyte- 
rian Church, and a lecture on Chapter Masonry delivered by Com- 
panion Rev. J. Woodbridge. 

June, 1868, the sanrie officers were re elected. 

June 24th, 1809, B. M. Winston was elected High Priest, George 
Gayle, King, and William Soaper, Jr., Scribe. This was a sort of 
dead year, the Chapter doing nothing, and when election day, June 
4th, 1870, came, all of the offices were filled pro tern. No election 
was held. No meetings had been held since July l9th, 1869, and a 
resolution was passed exempting all the members from paying dues 
for the year 1869. 

Upon the close of this meeting it seemed that R. A. Masonry 
was dead in Henderson, and so it was, for a time. 

February, 1871, a meeting was held and steps taken to revive the 
Chapter. Jerusalem Lodge came to the rescue and granted the 
Chapter the use of its Lodge room for one year free of charge. On 
the twenty-fourth day of June, 1871, the following were elected : 
William Soaper, Jr., High Priest; James F. Clay, King; P. H. King, 
Scribe; G. H. Johnson, C. H.; J. B. Cook, P. S.; E H. Branson, R. 
A. C; J. F. Mayer, G. M., Third Vail; ]. G. Adams, G. M., Second 
Vail; J. P. loor, G. M., First Vail; S. K. Sneed, Treasurer; A. W. 
Overton, Secretary; J. P. Wigal, Sentinel. 

On the evening of June twenty-ninth the foregoing officers were 
publicly installed at the Baptist Church, Past Grand High Priest Jo- 
seph H. Branham officiating. Companion Rev. Dr. Talbird delivered 
the address. The Chapter had now taken on new life, and has had 
no backsets from any cause. In looking over the list of those who 
have been exalted I find the same distinguishing features that marked 
old Jerusalem No. 9. Men of prominence are those who make up 
the majority, yet I find that from every station, the mechanic, the 
lawyer, the physician, the merchant, the ministers, and the politician, 
all are there, and, once inside the Masonic door, all are alike and equal. 

OFFICERS. 

1857 — E. G. Earnhart, High Priest; Edmund H. Hopkins, King ; 
William Soaper, Scribe. 1858— E. G. Earnhart, High Priest; Ed- 
mund H. Hopkins, King; William Soaper, Scribe. 1859— E. G. 
Hall, High Priest ; E. G. Earnhart, King ; William Soaper, Scribe. 
I860— E. G. Hall, High Priest; J. D. Anderson, King; William 
Soaper, Scribe. 1872— E. G. Hall, High Priest ; J. T. Bunch, King ; 
W. H. Sandefur, Scribe. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 491 

No elections to January 17th, 186G. 

1866— E. G. Hall, High Priest; P. Thompson, King ; W. H. 
Sandefur, Scribe. June 24th--=^. G. Hall, High Priest; P. Thomp- 
son, King; J. B' Cromwell, Scribe. 1867, '68— S. K. Sneed, 
High Priest ; E. L. Starling, King ; George Gayle, Scribe. 1869 — 
B. M. Winston, High Priest; George Gayle, King; William Soaper, 
Scribe. 1870— No election. June 24th, 1871— William Soaper, Jr., 
High Priest; Jame F. Clay, King; P. H. King, Scribe. September 
9th, 1871— William Soaper, Jr., High Priest; S. D. Posey, King; J. 

B. Cook, Scribe. 1872 — C. H. Johnson, High Priest ; William Soaper, 
Jr., King; J. F. Mayer, Scribe. 1873, '74— C. H. Johnson, High 
Priest; H. W. Fulton, King; A. S. Winstead, Scribe. 1875— Wil- 
liam Soaper, Jr., High Priest; B. G. Witt, King; A. J. Winstead, 
Scribe. 1876— B. G. Witt, High Priest ; H. W. Fulton, King; A. S. 
Winstead, Scribe. 1877— H. W. Fulton, High Priest; Jac. Peter, 
King; J. F. Mayor, Scribe. 1878— R. D. Peay, High Priest; H. W. 
Fulton, King; R. B. Batte, Scribe. 1879— B.G. Witt, High Priest; 

C. H. Johnson, King; Jac. Peter, Scribe. 1880, '81 — Jac. Peter, 
High Priest; E. H. Branson, King; P. Sasseen, Scribe. 1882— S. 
A. Chambers, High Priest; P. Sasseen, King; E. H. Branson, Scribe. 
1883— P. H. King, Pligh Priest; P. Sasseen, King; E. H. Branson, 
Scribe. 1884— No election. 1885, '86— C. H. Johnson refused to 
qualify and P. H. King retained the office ; Marion Duncan, King ; 
W. J. Marshall, Jr., Scribe. 

On the twentieth day of October, 1885, at a meeting of the 
Grand Chapter of Kentucky, held in the City of Louisville, the ex- 
alted position of "Grand High Priest" was conferred upon B. G. 
Witt, of Henderson Chapter. Thus, it will be observed, that Mr. 
Witt was, in October, 1885, elected both " Grand Worshipful Master" 
and ''Grand High Priest," the first and only time, perhaps, the two 
Grand offices were ever conferred upon one person during the same 
year. 

HENDERSON COMMANDERY, U. D. 

This Commandery was instituted in Henderson, under dispensa- 
tion, on the twenty-sixth day of December, 1871. [The credit of its 
institution was due almost ^entirely to the indefatigable work of Past 
Grand Master Campbell H. Johnson. It is more than probable that 
but for his liberality and effort there would have been no Command- 
ery here.] — Ed. 

The organization of a Commandery at Henderson at that time 
was a matter of more trouble than well could have been imagined, 



492 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

There were but few Knights Templar here and they were old and 
rusty in the work. Rev. Dr. Talbird, of the Baptist Church, Wil- 
liam Davis, Hon. H. F. Turner, H. W. Fulton and Andrew J. Flana- 
gan constituted the number. In order to institute an asylum names 
had to be borrowed from Owensboro, yet there was no Commnndery 
at that place. It required nine names to the petition, and those nine 
were secured under difficulties. However, the petition received the 
requisite number of signatures, and in the course of time a dispensa- 
tion was received and notice from William C. Munger, the then Grand 
Recorder, that as proxy of the Grand Commander, he would visit 
Henderson on the twenty-sixth of December, with such assistance as 
he could procure in Louisville, for the purpose of setting Henderson 
Commandery, U. D., to work. In order to have a sufficient number 
present to open a Commandery an invitation was sent to Evansville, 
Ind., and in response thereto Sir Knights James K. Minor, William 
E. Hollingsworth, and George H. Fish, came down. A (Commandery 
was then opened at 8:30 o'clock P. M., December 26th, 1871. There 
were present William C. Munger, E. C; H. W. Fulton, Generalissimo; 
William H. Parvin, C. G.; Henry Talbird, Prelate ; James K. Minor, 
S. W.; William S. Hollingsworth, J. W ; A. J. Flanagan, Warden ; 
George H. Fish, Recorder. 

The order of Red Cross was conferred that evening upon several 
candidates and next day following, the Knights Templar order was 
conferred. Thus this little body of workers proceeded until Hen- 
derson Commanders was able to stand alone without the aid of 
outside help. From that time to this Henderson Commandery 
has had an uninterrupted career of prosperity. In May, 1879, she 
entertained the Grand Commandery of Kentucky and visiting Com- 
manderies from Evansville and Terre Haute, Ind., in a manner that 
gave her a reputation for true hospitality that has spread both far and 
near, and each succeeding year the Commanderies in other parts of 
the State have said : " We only wish to come up to Henderson, No. 
14, in our entertainment — we know we can't surpass her." Notwith- 
standing the large amount of expense attending such an entertainment, 
yet the treasury of the Commandery was not depleted, but, on the 
other hand, after the work was all done, the entertainment committee 
returned to the Treasury about ninety dollars. This branch of Ma- 
sonry, as stated, has never ceased to prosper, and during the year 
1882, at a large expense, fitted up very handsome, convenient and 
spacious apartments, where the orders of knighthood can now be con- 
ferred with ease, comfort and imposing effect. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 493 

Henderson Commandery has initiated into the mysteries of 
knighthood over one hundred Companion Royal Arch Masons. Alida 
Commandery, DeKoven, Ky., o1ie of the best and strongest in South- 
ern Kentucky, sprang from Henderson, yea, more. La Vallette, 
Evansville, owes a great portion of its success to Henderson. 

LIST OF OFFICERS FROM INSTITUTION. 

1871— H. W. Fulton, E. C; H. E. Lewis, General; A. J. Flan- 
agan, C. G.; C. H. Johnson, Prelate. 18l72— H. W. Fulton, E. C; 
S. K. Sneed, General; A. G. Flanagan, C. G.; H. H. Johnson, Pre- 
late. 1873— H.W. Fulton, E. C; S. K. Sneed, General; A.J.Flan- 
agan, C. G.; C. H. Johnson, Prelate. 1874— H. W. Fulton, E. C 
William Soaper, Jr., General; B. G. Witt, C. G.; A T. Dudley, Pre 
late. 1875 William Soaper, Jr., E. C; E. L. Starling, Jr., General 
B. G. Witt, C. G.; A. J. Dudley, Prelate. 1876— William Soaper, Jr. 
E. C; E. L. Starling, Jr., General; B. G. Witt, C. G.; A.T.Dudley 
Prelate. 1877— William Soaper, Jr., E. C; A. T. Dudley, General 
B. G. Witt, Prelate. 1878— B. G. Witt, E. C; O. Collins, General 
H. W. Fulton, C. G.; James L. Lambert, Prelate. 1879-B. G.Witt, 
E. C; A. S. Winstead, General; William Soaper, Jr., C. G.; James 
L. Lambert, Prelate. 1880— C. H. Johnson, E. C; A. S, Winstead, 
General; James L. Lambert, C. G.; R. D. Peay, Prelate. 1882— C. 
G. Perkins, E. C; M. Duncan, General ; R. H. Digman, C. G.; R S. 
Barrett, Prelate. 1883— Same officers. 1884— M. Duncan, E. C; 
R. H. Digman, General ; P. H. King, C. G.; R. S. Barrett, Prelate. 
1885 — M. Duncan, E. C; James L. Lambert, General; William 
Soaper, C. G.; C. H, Johnson, Prelate. 1886 — James E. Lambert, 
E. C, W. J. Marshall, Jr., General; S. H. Lambert, C. G.; C. H. 
Johnson, Prelate. 1887— B G. Witt, E. C; C. G. Perkins, General ; 
Marion Duncan, C. G., C. H. Johnson, Prelate. P. Sasseen, Re- 
corder since 1881. 

On the twenty-third of May, 1884, this Commandery was greatly 
honored in the election of Sir Bernard G. Witt to the position of 
Grand Eminent Commander of the State of Kentucky. The honor 
was conferred at Bowling Green at the annual conclave of the Grand 
Commandery. Upon Sir Knight Witt's return home he was received 
at the depot by Henderson Commandery, with Warren's Band in the 
lead, and escorted to his residence. During the evening an elegant 
banquet was given him in the Asylum. A number of addresses were 
made, inspiriting music graced the occasion, and all was joy and 
gladness. 



494 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ODD FELLOWS. 

"strangers' rest LODGE, NO. 13." 

In the year 1842 a few members of that ancient and honorable 
order, who had, ownig to a force of circumstances, been denied the 
pleasure of its social meetings, and desirous of establishing a Lodge, 
and extending its benefits to those who wished to embrace its beauti- 
ful theories, as well as partake of its charitable work, determined to 
petition the Grand Lodge of the State of Kentucky, for the organiza- 
tion of a subordinate Lodge in Henderson. At that time there was 
not much material here of which it could be expected to build a grand 
organization, but there was enough to begin the good work, so a peti 
tion was forwarded, and on the fifteenth day of October, 1842, the 
Grand Lodge of Kentucky, by authority of the Grand Lodge of the 
United States, granted a warrant, or dispensation, to Mark M. Jeffries. 
William L. Stone, J. M. Stockwell, W. G. Allin and Barak Brashaer, 
to constitute a Lodge to be hailed by the title of "Strangers' Rest" 
Lodge, No, 13, to be held in Henderson. This warrant was signed 
by Jessee VanSickles, M. W. G. M.; J. S. Lithgow, R. W. D. G. M.; 
A. R. W. Harris, R. W. G. S.; (J. W. Taylor, R. W. G. W.; Jas Met- 
calf, R. W. G. T. 

On the twenty-second evening of October, 1842, Jessee Van- 
Sickle, Grand Master of the State, and Charles Woodford, both of 
Louisville, visited Henderson, and with the assistance of the charter 
members living in the town, and to whom the charter had been granted, 
organized a Lodge, using the second story room over the brick build- 
ing on the West side of Second Street, and now occupied by James 
Mullin, as a saloon. In this room the Lodge continued to meet until 
the year 1845. 

During the early part of 1845 the Trustees of the town determined 
to build a market house, with a brick calaboose of small capacity at 
one end of it, this house, or skeleton, was to be built on square brick 
pillars at equal distance, and a frame roof placed thereon. Before 
their plans had been fully matured, the Odd Fellows, whose order had 
grown to be an important one for those times, proposed to the Town 
Trustees to build in conjunction with the market house and calaboose, 
a Lodge Room, the town to build the brick pillars and prison, and 
the Lodge to build a frame Lodge Room the whole length overhead ; 
the proposition was accepted and the house was soon after built and 
ready for occupancy. The next thing then was to have a grand 
parade and the dedicatory festivities. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 495 

At the July meeting of the County Court, held in 1845, the fol- 
lowing order was passed : " Ordered that the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows have leave to use^he Court House on the twenty-ninth 
day of August next in performing their ceremonies in the dedication 
of their hall in the town of Henderson." On this day and night the 
new hall was dedicated with all the solemnity and eclat which usually 
attaches to such occasions. A grand parade and banquet feast was 
held, and at which many members of the order from Evansville and 
other places participated. It was a great day, and each particular 
member felt and exhibited a creditable amount of Lodge enthusiasm. 
The paraphenalia and effects of the order were removed to the new 
Lodge Room, and the work of the order carried on there until the 
year 1852, when through the infamy of an incendiary, the Lodge Room 
with all its books and effects, was totally destroyed by fire. This un- 
fortunate circumstance cast a gloom over the order, and for a time 
they hardly knew what to do. Reviving their past energies, they 
rented the third story room of the building erected in 1853 by F. Mil- 
let, and now occupied and owned by A. S. Winstead, on the east side 
of Second Street, where they continued to meet until 1862. On the 
twenty-second day of April, very soon after the great battle of Shiloh, 
or Pittsburg Landing, their Lodge R6om was taken possession of by 
the United States authorities and converted into a hospital forsick and 
wounded soldiers. Immediately all of the effects of the Lodge were 
removed to the second story of R. G. Beverley's store house on Main 
Street, now the corner house of the Soaper Block, and no meetings 
were held until the seventh day of June, 1862, when a meeting was 
called to pay the last sad rites of the order to W. E. Lambert, a de- 
parted member. Subsequent to that time, business meetings of the 
Lodge were held in that room until 1864, when the Lodge property 
was removed to the third story room in the building on Main, two 
doors from the corner of Third Street. While located in this room 
the work of the order was revived and many candidates were initiated 
into the mysteries of the craft. It was here preliminary steps were 
taken to utilize a valuable piece of ground they had purchased from 
Dr. Owen Glass on March 18th, 1852. 

During the spring meeting of 1873 of the Legislature, an act was 
passed and approved, authorizing the Lodge to issue bonds to the 
amount of fifteen thousand dollars to use in the building of a Hall 
and Lodge Room. Soon thereafter the bonds were issued and placed 
in the keeping of E. W. Worsham for sale. A building committee 
was appointed with power to secure plans and specifications. May 



496 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

20th, 1873, the plans and specifications having been reported to the 
Lodge, and by it adopted, the building committee was instructed to 
proceed to let the building to the lowest bidder, provided the bid did 
not exceed the sum of $15,000, and the sale of the bonds could be 
effected at not less than their face value. May 26th the contract for 
building a hall according to the plans and specifications adopted, was 
let to Tribble and Kennedy at and for the sum of $14,575, the bonds 
having all been disposed of at their face value. Digman & Kyle did 
the brick work; Holloway, loor & Co., the iron front and other iron 
work; Henry Kerr, the plastering; W. H. Barnard & Co., the roofing, 
and Tribble & Kennedy, the carpenter work. George R. Ellis and 
Asa F. Parker, by order of the Lodge, superintended the work. This 
building is situated upon the east side of Second Street, between 
Main and Elm, and is beyond question, one of the most imposing 
buildings to be found — certainly the handsomest in Henderson. It is 
a double building, open fronts, three stories, with mansard roof, forty 
feet by one hundred, with two handsome store rooms on first floor, 
offices and rooms in the second story, and two magnificant halls in the 
third storv, one of which is used bv the builders as a Lodo:e Room. 
This hall was dedicated the sefenteenth day of December, 1873, 
Brother Scott, of Portland Lodge ofiftciating. It was then placed in 
the hands of S. A. Young, G. M. Vogel and Fred Kleiderer, consti- 
tuted a property committee. It is a fitting monument to the liberality 
and enterprise of its builders and an ornament to the city. It was 
built during the term of S. A. Young, Noble Grand, and its corner 
stone was laid with imposing ceremonies conducted by that ofificer. 
Strangers' Rest Lodge has never failed to dispense charity when that 
sweet comforter has been needed; she has been cautious of her worthy 
members and has never failed to watch beside the bed of the sick and 
dying. She was among the first to send a handsome contribution to 
the afflicted yellow fever sufferers in 1879. Many of our dead who 
were leaders in life, and esteemed for all the characteristics of genuine 
manhood, were active members of this Lodge. 

The following is a list of the membership from October, 1842, to 
the time of the fire in 1852 : 

James Alves, Jr., William G. Allin, Joseph Adams, James An- 
thony, Lafayette Anderson, Barak Brashaer, L. W. Brown, Robert 
G. Beverley, William Brewster, Wm. H. Cunningham, Geo. W. Col- 
lins, Benj. M. Clay, Simon L. Drury, Charles Elliot, George R. Ellis, 
William Faulkner, William F. Gobin, Henry D. Green, Grant Green, 
Hector Green, Richard Green, Samuel B. Gardner, David Hart, Jacob 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 497 

Held, James L. Hicks, Martin S. Hancock, William Ingram, George W. 
Johnson, Alvan L. Jones, Thomas J. Jackson, John H. Lambert, Wm. 

E. Lambert^ Robert B. Lambert, George Lyne, Samuel W. Langley, 
Andrew Mackay, Peter Mullin,^*John Melvin, A. J. Morrison, R. J. 
McMullen, E. D. McBride, Hugh W. Nunn, James T. Norment, Al- 
fred Oliver, Lazarus W. Powell, C. M, Pennell, James Rouse, H. E. 
Rouse, W. G. Redman, C. T. Sandefur, William L. Stone, John C. 
Stapp, Thebo SchaejfTer, Thomas E. Sniith, James Taylor, John F, 
Toy, William F. Tornberry, D. H. Unselt, William B. Vansandt, 
Stephen R. Wilson, Hudson P. Wilson, Drury L. White, E. W. Wor- 
sham, Robert Watson, James R. Wright, D. N. Walden. Sixty-six 
all told. The war affected the growth of the Lodge seriously, as for 
instance, in 1861, there were only two initiations in 1862 and '63, one 
each year, and in 1864 none at all. Since the war the Lodge has 
grown rapidly. In 1865 there were twenty-five initiations, and in 1866 
there were twenty-one. In latter years the growth has not been so 
great In 1880 and '81 there were only two initiations both years. 

The following is a list of the Noble Grands from the organization : 
Barak Brashaer, 1842 ; James M. Stockwell, 1843 ; Wm. L. Stone, 
1843, '48,54; C. M. Yeargain, 1843 ; Jacob Held, 1844, '57; Thos. 
Towles, Jr., 1844 ; Andrew Mackay, 1844 ; James Rouse, 1844 ; Ira 
Delano, 1845, '46; Peter Mullin, 1845 ; Wm. H. Cunningham, 1846, 
'47-'48; D.J. Boatwright, 1846 ; John M. Cook, 1846, '47; John 

F. Toy, 1847; J. H. Lambert, 1849, '52, '56, '60, '62 ; Wm. B. Van- 
zandt, 1849, '53; D. H. Unselt, 1850 ; James Alves, 1850; Alfred 
Oliver, 1851 ; W. E. Lambert, 1851, '59; R. G. Rouse, 1854; Henry 
C. Kerr, 1855; Andrew Clark, 1855, '58; Asa T. Parker, 1856; John 
T. Bunch, 1857; T. M.Jenkins, 1858; W. H. Ladd, 1859, '63; M. 
H. Hancock, 1861, '62; July, '62 and January, '63 no elections held; 

G. R. Ellis, 1864, '66 ; Grant Green, 1865 ; T. J. Gill, 1865; J. C. 
Stapp, 1866; G. M. Vogel, 1867; Fred. Kleiderer, 1867; W. H. 
Schaeffer, 1868 ; William Bierschenk, 1868 ; George Forthoffer, 1869; 
J. T. Lancaster, 1870; E. W. Worsham, 1870; B. Koltinsky, 1871; 
J. B. Cook, 1871 ; T. D. Walker, 1872; Jacob Blair, 1872; S. A. 
Young, 1873; M. J. Streng, 1873; Jas. H. McCullagh, 1874; Martin 
Schlamp, 1874; James McLaughlin, 1875; F. E. Kreipke, 1875 ; F. 
A. Ellis, 1876; John P. Beverley, 1876, '80 ; Wm. E. McGraw, 1877; 
P. B. Tribble, 1877; P. C. Kyle, 1878 ; P. P. Johnson, 1878; John 
L. Dorsey, 1879; William Cannings, 1879; F. W. Posey, 1880; R. 
E.Cook, 1881; T. S. Knight, 1881; Wm. M. Marsh, 1882; J. B. 
Johnson, 1882; J. W. Rouse, 1883 ; W. H. Unverzaght, 1883; Adam 

32 



498 HISTORY OF HENDLRSON COUNTY KY. 

Wolf, 1884 ; E. W. Worsham, 1884 ; George R. Ellis, 1885 ; P. C. 
Kyle, 1885 ; G. E. Barnard, later part of term 1885 ; W. E. McGraw, 
1886; Thos. E. Ward, 1886; John Mundo, 1887; D. W. Cummings, 
1887. 

At the recent election, held on Tuesday evening, July 5th, 1887, 
the following officers : 

D. W. Cummings, N. G., Geo. H. Hartman, V. G., George M. 
Vogel, Treasurer, R. E. Cook, Per. Secretary, O. H. J. Petty, Record- 
ing Secretary, were duly installed by Deputy District Grand Master, 
E. W, Worsham. It was through the instrumentality of Strangers' 
Rest Lodge that a Lodge was instituted at Shawneetown, Illinois, in 
1845, and at Morganfield in 1847. On both of these occasions the 
following officers of the Strangers' Rest officiated : B. Brashaer, 
Hector Green, Jacob Held, James Rouse, Peter Mullen and W. H, 
Brown. 

» MT. ZION ENCAMPMENT, NO. 17. 

A higher branch of Odd Fellowship was instituted in this city 
June 12th, 1848, under dispensation. November 4th, 1848, it was 
chartered, the following being its charter members : William H. 
Cunningham, Dr. Wm. S. Read, Barak Brashaer, W. Hubbell, Samuel 
Lister, Willis J. Hughes, Charles Woolford, C. Little and William 
Wandell. The encampment was instituted by Deputy G. O. P.; John 
B. Hinkle, who was deputized by R. T. W. G. P., David P. Watson. 
The first meeting was held in *' Strangers' Rest " Lodge Room, over 
the market house, June 12th, 1848. The following petitions for mem- 
bership were received : John T. Berry, S. D. Delaney, T. Wolflin, 
Isham Bridges, Robert Alvey, P. H. Hodge, W. David, Charles B. 
B. Nailer, P. L. Johnson, all of Morganfield, Union County. Joseph 
Adams, William H. Brown, L. W. Brown, James Rouse and Peter 
Mullin, of Henderson. The Lodge met next day for the purpose of 
initiating the petitioners, and holding an election for officers. The 
following were elected : W. H. Cunningham, C. P.; J. P. Lister, H. 
P.; William S. Read, S. W.; Barak Brashaer, Jr. W.; Peter Mullin, 
Scribe; W. H. Brown, Sentinel, W. G. Hughes, Guide. The dues of 
the Lodge were then fixed at three dollars, and have never been 
changed from that day to this. Charles Woolford and C. Little were 
from Louisville, and came down for the purpose of assisting in insti- 
tuting the encampment. The encampment was for some reason sus- 
pended January 3d, 1857, but resumed active work again October 4th, 
1859. On the night the Market House and Lodge Room were burned 
there had been a meeting of the encampment. It was a bitter cold 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 499 

night, and a rousing fire had been kept in the stove. Upon adjourn- 
ment the fire was extinguished, yet David N. Walden, who was scribe 
in charge of the books, felt that it was best to carry the records of 
the Lodge to his home. He did so, although it had been the custom 
to let the books remain in the Lodge Room, from this precautionary 
move on his part, the records of the encampment were saved, while 
those of the Strangers* Rest Lodge were all burned. It is gratifying 
to know that No. 17 is still in a flourishing condition. 

On the evening of July 5th, 1887, the following officers were in- 
stalled by Deputy District Grand Patriarch, E. W. Worsham : Wm. 
E. McGraw, Chief Patriarch ; George H. Hartman, Senior Warden; 
William Klee, High Priest, and John Mundo, Junior Warden. 

KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS. 

IVY LODGE, NO. 21. 

In January, 1873, a Lodge of the beautiful order of Pythian 
Knighthood was established in Henderson. On the twenty-second 
day of January, 1873, a char'er signed by W. A. Colten, G. C. ; F. 
Hesor, V. P. G., J. J. Fisher, G. B., John A. Sayer, G. G., John B* 
Sarles, G. V. G. C., George Fritchnen, G. I. S., E. G. Buckner, G. 
O. S., John T. Montgomery, G. H. S., was granted the following 
charter members, with authority to organize " Ivy Lodge," No. 21 : 
L. M. Noel, Geo. M. Atkinson, R. H. Cunningham, T. M. Jenkins, 
J. Edwin Rankin, F. B. Stains, H. H. Shouse, James A. McCullagh,' 
William B. Furman, James T. Williams, F. H. Overton, David Banks,' 
Jr., F. B. Cromwell, H. W. Howard, Edmund S. Holloway and Jinks 
W. Williams. Five of this number, almost one-third, have gone to 
join their fraters in the world beyond the grave. 

Ivy Lodge was organized under dispensation prior to receiving 
its charter. Its first meetings were held in the third story rooms 
corner Main and First Streets. T. M. Jenkins was elected First 
Chancellor Commander, J. Ed. Rankin, Vice Chancellor. 

This Lodge, from its beginning, grew more rapidly, perhaps, than 
any other charitable society ever organized in the town or city. The 
Lodge is composed of many of the representative men of the city and 
at this time numbers one hundred and nineteen members. At the 
meeting of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, held in Henderson, 
September, 1879, W. W. Blackwell, a member of Ivy Lodge, 
was unanimously elected Grand Chancellor of the State. At tlie 
same meeting a most sumptuous banquet was given the Grand Lodge 
by Ivy Lodge, and the very heavy expense attending it was borne by 



500 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the Lodge and its members. This banquet was never surpassed in 
Kentucky, in its conception, its immensity, and its complete success. 

On December, 1886, the Endowment Rank and insurance feature 
of the Lodge was chartered, the following named composing the 
charter members : W. W. Blackwell, J. B. Johnston, Gustave Starr, 
Edward Starr, E. T. Robards, S. Heilbronner, W. H. Bailey, F. B. 
Stains, J. D. Hicks, P. C. Kyle, E. M. Pollack, W. A. Dechamp, John C. 
Thomasson, E. D. Bennett, and Edward Atkinson. This charter was 
signed by Howard Douglas, Supreme Chancellor ; R. E. Cowan, Su- 
preme Keeper Records and Seals ; Halver Nelson, Supreme Secre- 
tary Endowment Rank, and is recognized as Section 779, of which 
John C. Thomasson is Secretary. The Endowment Rank is purely a 
mutual life insurance organization, issuing policies in amounts vary- 
ing from three hundred to one thousand dollars, according to age of 
applicant. 

Ivy Lodge has the honor of claiming among its membership two 
Past Grand Chancellors, W. W. Blackwell and Edward Atkinson, the 
latter elected at Paris, Ky., in 1885. At the Grand Lodge meeting 
held at Owensboro several years ago, Ivy Lodge Drill Corps won the 
prize banner and yet holds it. 

The following Past Chancellors have presided : 

T. M. Jenkins, 1872, two terms ; J. Ed. Rankin, 1873 ; James H. 
McCullagh, 1873, '78; David Banks, 1873; R. H. Cunningham, 1874; 
Joseph B. Johnston, 1874; Fred H. Overton, 1875; Jas. McLaugh- 
lin, 1875, '79 ; S. A. Young, 1876; W. W. Blackwell, 1876; F. B. 
Stains, 1877 ; F. E. Kreipke, 1877; P. B. Tribble, 1879, two terms; 
John P. Beverly, 1880 ; P. C. Kyle, 1880, two terms; F. A. Ellis, 
1881 ; R. E. Cook, 1881, two terms ; Edwin Hodge, 1882 ; Edward 
Atkinson, 1883, two terms; Charles H. Miller, 1884; John Thomas- 
son, 1884 ; John R. Lambert, 1885; John L. Dorsey, 1885 ; John R. 
Lambert, 1886; J. B. Weaver, 1886; R. D. Vance, 1887; William 
E. McGraw, 1887. 

John C. Thomasson, Keeper of Records and Seals since Octo- 
ber, 1886. 

Upon the election of Edward Atkinson to the office of Grand 
Chancellor Commander, Ivy Lodge extended him on his return home 
a delightful banquet at City Hall, where hundreds of friends and in- 
vited guests were given a most enjoyable treat. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 501 

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF GOOD TEMPLARS. 

On the twenty-third day of January, 1886, this order whose 
principles are " Abstinence and Prohibition ; Our Mission to Save 
and Redeem," a Lodge was chartered in Henderson by C. C. Nisbet, 
G. W. S. ; R. S. Chevis, G. W. C. T., and B. F. Parked, R. W. G. S. 
The following officers were elected : Thomas E. Ward, W. C. T.; Mrs. 
Emma Hart, N. V. T. ; Rev. R. D. Smith, W. Chaplain ; A. J. Miller, 
W. Secretary ; James F. Cheatham, W. A. S. ; T. F. Hart, W. F. S. ; 
Miss Lydia Katterjohn, W. Treasurer ; C. H. Miller, W. M. ; Miss 
Mabel kail, W. D. M. ; Miss Hebe Marsh, W. L G. ; W. G. Bell, 
W. O. D. ; Miss Annie Young, W. R. H. S. ; Miss Maggie Stone, 
W. L. H. S. ; S. W. Roll, P. VV.C. T. A juvenile Temple was insti- 
tuted the following February. 

ORDER OF IRON HALL. 

This Order, whose aim is Union, Protection and Forbearance, 
was chartered in Henderson, December 11th, 1885. Its number is 
^96, and there were twenty-six charter members. William Canning 
was its first Chief Officer, Ed. Hoffman, Secretary. It embodies the 
usual insurance features. 

GRAND ARMY REPUBLIC. 

John Holloway, Jr., Post, No. 46, was chartered August 19th, 
1886. There were twenty-six charter members, and the Post now 
numbers about eighty comrades. Dr. Ben. Letcher was elected first 
Commander ; A. C. Myrick, Adjutant. 

ORDER OF HARUGARI. 

Schiller Lodge, No. 185, was instituted in Henderson in 1868. 
It is a charitable organization and numbers about twenty-five mem- 
bers. Its present officers are William Schildrod, O. B. ; John Young- 
becker, U. B. ; Charles Greiks, Secretary; George Klauder, Treas- 
urer. 

KNIGHTS OF HONOR. 

Dixon Lodge, No. 569, was organized in 1877, and is composed 
of the best citizens of the place. Mutual insurance is the main 
feature. 

KNIGHTS OF LABOR. 

Henderson Liberty Assembly, No. 5666, was organized in Feb- 
ruary, 1886, and has quite a large membership. 



502 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

COLORED LODGES. 

St. John's Lodge, No. 4, (Masonic) — Instituted September, 1866. 

Camby Lodge, No. 1642, (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) — 
Instituted 1876. 

United Brothers of Friendship — Instituted October, 1871. 

Pride of Kentucky Lodge, No. 105 — Organized October, 1880. 

Bias Lodge, No. 8 — Organized November, 1879. 

Pledies Chamber, (Females), No. 1 — Organized December, 1880. 

Sons and Daughters of Zion, Lincoln Lodge, No 1 — Organized 
June, 1887. 



HENDERSON ENTERPRISES. 



Water Works. — On the seventeenth day of September, 1872, a 
petition, liberally signed, was filed with the Council, praying that body 
to establish a system of water supply. Upon the reading of this 
petition, a resolution was passed, directing City Council Advisor 
Judge Charles Eaves to draft and report a bill incorporating the 
Henderson Waters Works Company. The bill was drawn, adopted 
and passed by the Legislature, winter term 1872, '73. On the twelfth 
day of March, 1878, the act was reported to the Council. The 
incorporators, Joseph Adams, John C. Stap, John H. Barrett, T. M. 
Jenkins, David Clark, L. C. Dallam, E. L. Starling, Jacob Held, Ben 
Harrison, F. W. Reutlinger and V. M. Mayer, soon found that a 
private company could not be organized and thereupon the City 
Council determined to embrace the benefit of franchises, powers and 
privileges granted the city under the act. 

On the twentieth day of May an ordinance was passed, directing 
an election to be held to ascertain the sense of the qualified voters as 
to the propriety of the city issuing her bonds in the sum of one hundred 
thousand dollars for Water Works purposes. On the twenty-first day 
of June, 1873, this election was held and resulted in a large majority 
for the proposition. July 15th, a committee consisting of G. M. Alves, 
T. M. Jenkins, E. L. Starling and F. W. Reutlinger, was appointed to 
investigate the general subject of Water Works and to report a plan 
that, in their opinion, would meet the wants of this people. The com- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 503 

mittee visited several cities and made a thorough examination of the 
different systems. August 4th, a report was made to the Council, 
which, together with the following resolution offered by Councilman 
L. C. Dallam, was approved : 

" Resolved, That the special committee on the subject of Water Works, 
whose report on that subject has been read and adopted at this meeting, are 
entitled to the thanks of this Council for their able report on that subject, and 
that an allowance to cover their expenses be made them," 

On the twenty-lifth day of June, 1874, an ordinance to build 
*' Water Works " was passed and directed one hundred thousand 
dollars of city bonds to be issued. In the meantime, a plan and 
specifications had been submitted by Thos. P. Whitman, of St. Louis, 
who had been employed for that purpose. These were adopted, and 
a committee directed to advertise for sealed proposals for doing the 
work. August 18th, the bonds were reported and on August 21st an 
elaborate report was filed by Thomas P. Whitman, Consulting, and 
G. M. Alves, Resident Engineers. This report was unanimously 
adopted and the following bids awarded : 

J. G. Eigerman & Co. , Engine Pit and Suction Pipe $ 9,335 70 

John Hafley, Reservoir 12,694 00 

G. W. Hider & Co., Stand Pipe 1,575 00 

John Haftev, Laving Pipe 5,190 00 

R. D. Wood & bo., Pipes and Special Castings 29,131 50 

James Flower & Bro., Stop Valves 627 00 

Fulton Iron Works. Hydrants 713 00 

G. B Allen & Co , Pumping Engine 15.400 00 

174,666 20 
The Mayor was then directed to have issued seventy-five bonds 
of $1,000 each, and fifty bonds of $500, and Mayor Held, Col. L. H. 
Lyne and A. S. Nunn authorized to negotiate the same. August 29th, 
purchased the present Water Works grounds of John H. and W. T. 
Barret, executors of A. B. Barret, for the sum. of $7,438 cash. Septem- 
ber 17th, 1875, Hon. John C. Atkinson qualified as Mayor, and upon his 
inauguration, the Water Committee of the previous administration, 
made the following report : 

Paid to Contractors $ 61,135 74 

" for Land 7,438 00 

" Interest on Bonds 4,275 00 

" Engine Pit Filled 477 00 

" Engineers and Inspector 2,773 57 

'• Miscellaneous and Incidentals 1,257 35 

Amount of Funds on hands 25,118 19 

Total $102,474 85 



504 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTV, KY. 

During the fall and winter of 1875 and winter and spring of 
1876, the engine, pumps and boilers were placed in position, attach- 
ments made and steam raised. April 18th, 1876, an ordinance 
establishing water rates was passed. June 6th, John Haffey com- 
pleted his contract for pipe-laying, and the pipes were submitted to a 
test of seventy-five pounds to the square inch and found water-tight. 
July 1st, 1876, the water was turned into the pipes, and this was the 
beginning of the first term of water service. June 20th, 1877, a final 
test, as agreed, was made of the machinery. The pumps threw over 
8,000,000 gallons of water, as required by the contract, in forty-eight 
hours, and thereupon the committee reported, recommending their 
acceptance. This report was approved and the works turned over to the 
Commissioners appomtedby the Council, to-wit : L. H. Lyne, Thos. L. 
Norris, P. B. Matthews, Thos. S. Knight and John Reichert. The 
total cost of the works, including street mams and interest paid, 
amounted to $115,500. Since the first water rent term, the semi- 
annual receipts have continued to show a gratifying increase, for 
instance : 

First term, commencing July 21st, 1876, ending Janurary 1st, 
1887, $53.90. Twenty-first term, commencing July, 1886, ending 
January, 1887, $5,393.57. 

The total receipts of these Works to July, 1887, amounts to 
$64,296.99, an annual average of $5,358.09i4;. Number of hydrants, 
68; number of valves, 58; number of service, 750; number of con- 
sumers, 1,500 ; miles of pipe, 3 to 12 inches, 12^. Stand pipe pres- 
sure, 75 pounds to square inch. Reservoir pressure, 40 pounds to 
square inch. Pumping capacity, 1,500,000 gallons per twenty-four 
hours. Capacity of reservoir, 3,000,000 gallons. 

Five years ago, the pumps were run not exceeding one day out 
of seven. At the present time they are engaged six days out of the 
seven. To guard against accidents, the Commissioners have seen 
proper to purchase another large and expensive engine, and should 
the water service increase, as there is every right to believe it will, it 
will not be many years before another reservoir will have to be built. 

The water mains are now laid under all of the principal streets 
and very many others sparsely settled. By far the greater portion of 
the city is under the influence of the works, and as a medium in case 
of fire is unequaled. The reservoir is located upon a high elevation, 
reservoir pressure capable of throwing an inch stream above the roof 
of any house in the city. In addition to this, the stand pipe pressure, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 505 

nearly double that of the reservoir, is called in aid in case of heavy 
fires. 

The works to-day are worfti $150,000. This property, belonging 
solely to the city, of course the price charged for water is far below 
that of other cities, where the works are owned by private companies 
or corporations. G. M. Alves, City Engineer, is entitled to great 
credit for the intelligence and faithful 'applicatichi exercised in the 
building and successful completion of these works. 

The present officers are : Jacob F. Mayer, President ; Fred. 
Kleiderer, Secretary and Treasurer; James P. Wigal, Superintendent. 
Commissioners, Jacob F, Mayer, Fred. Kleiderer, J. B. Johnston, W. 
J. Marshall and George Delker. 

Henderson Bridge. — Was incorporated on the ninth day of 
February, 1872, the following names comprising the incorporators: 
Archibald Dixon, John H. Barrett, Joseph Adams, L. C. Dallam, S. 
B. Vance, James F. Clay, E. L. Starling, Thomas A. Scott, E. G. 
Sebree, E. F. Winslow, Robert Dixon, Jackson McClain and L. H. 
Lyne. 

This act of the Legislature gave the right to bridge the Ohio 
River at Henderson, and invested the company to be organized, with 
all the authority incident to such corporations. 

Nothing was done looking to the building of the bridge until Sep- 
tember 21st, 1880, when the first meeting of the incorporators was 
called for organization. The following incorporators answered to their 
names : S. B. Vance, John H. Barrett, Jackson McClain, Leonard 
H. Lyne, Joseph Adams, Robert Dixon, James F. Clay, L. C. Dal- 
lam and E. L. Starling. James F. Clay was made chairman and E. 
L. Starling Secretary. Seven Directors were elected in accordance 
with the provisions of the act, to-wit : S. B. Vance, L. C. Dallam, 
James F. Clay, Leonard H. Lyne, John H. Barrett, Jackson McClain 
and E. L. Starling, and then the meeting adjourned. 

The Directors then organized, by electing L. C. Dallam Presi- 
dent and E. L. Starling Secretary. L. C. Dallam and L. H. Lyne 
were appointed a committee to open books and receive subscriptions 
to the capital stock of the company, and then the Board adjourned. 
Nothing more was then done until April 14th, 1881. At a meeting of 
the Directors, L. C. Dallam, James F. Clay and John H. Barrett re- 
signed. Jackson McClain was then chosen temporary Chairman ; 
E. P. Alexander, A. M. Quarrier and H. W. Bruce, of Louisville, 
elected Directors ; thereupon E. P. Alexander was unanimously 



506 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

elected President of the Board, and by resolution the principal offices 
of the company were located in Louisville 

At the first meeting of the stockholders, held in the City of Lou- 
isville, January 2d, 1882, the following Directors were elected : E. P. 
Alexander, A. M. Quarrier, H. W. Bruce, H. C.Murrell, C. C. Bald- 
win and G. A. Washington. 

During the spring and summer of 1882 preliminary surveys were 
made to ascertain distances, soundings, courses and rapidity of cur- 
rent. At the same time T. M. Jenkins, of Henderson, was employed 
to make borings for foundation. Early in 1883 a contract was entered 
into with O'Conner & McDonald, of Louisville, to do all required 
masonry work, and to build all caissons. Work was soon begun, and 
continued until April 7th, 1884, when the contract was taken from 
O'Conner & McDonald, and the completion of the great structure 
undertaken by the company. 

Work progressed much more rapidly under the new management, 
and in July, 1885, the first locomotive passed over the bridge. This 
immense iron and steel bridge cost near two million dollars. It is 
3,686 feet in length, single track, with sixteen spans, and three 
smaller or supplemental ones. The channel span, built entirely of 
steel, is five hundred and twenty-five feet in length — said to be five 
feet longer than any other iron or steel span in the world. The entire 
iron and steel work was done by the Key Stone Bridge Company, of 
Pittsburgh, Pa. There are fifteen stone piers, nine of which rest upon 
immense wooden caissons, sunk to a rock foundation, and filled com- 
pactly with concrete. 

During the building of the bridge there were onlv six or eight 
lives lost, and in every instance the loss of life was owing entirely to 
the recklessness of the unfortunate person. Mr. William Reardon, 
of New York, who superintended the sinking and placing of the cais- 
sons, told the writer that it was the first instance known where such 
work was so successfully done. Prior to the building of the Hender- 
son bridge, there had never been a pneumatic pier sunk without the 
loss of life. Five were sunk here, and not a life lost. He gave it as 
his opinion that the Henderson bridge has the best foundation of any 
similar structure in the world. 

On the sixth day of August, 1885, an immense banquet was given 
by the city and citizens of Henderson in honor of the opening for 
travel of the bridge. This banquet was spread in Marshall & Co.'s 
large warehouse, and was certainly one of the most abundantly sup- 
plied and elegant affairs ever witnessed in the West. Thousands of 




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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 507 

people were in Henderson on that long to be remembered day, from all 
parts of this great United States. It was estimated that there were 
twenty thousand people present?- At night, from barges in the river 
at the foot of the wharf, there was given an unsurpassed display of 
fireworks. At the banquet speeches were made by General Basil 
Duke, Judge H. W. Bruce, General Manager L. & N.; E. B. Stahl- 
man, of Louisville ; Judge S. B. Vance, Evansville ; Judge John L. T. 
Sneed, of Memphis, Tenn., and Hons. John Young Brown and J. H. 
Powell, of Henderson. An elegant speech tendering the hospitalities 
of the city was made by Mayor C. C. Ball. 

Notwithstanding the elegance and appropriateness of this cele 
bration, many citizens became dissatisfied, and on September 1st gave 
an immense barbecue in honor of the bridge opening. 

Henderson Gas Company. — During the year 1858 a company 
was organized for the purpose of manufacturing illuminating gas. 

The city subscribed ten shares, of fifty dollars each, to the capi- 
tal stock, and payed the subscription by deeding to the company the 
ground upon which the works were built. Wm. Miller, who professed 
to be an expert in the art of gas manufacture, was employed as Super- 
intendent, and placed in charge with directions to furnish plans and 
specifications. This he did, and some months thereafter completed the 
works, but upon a cheap and insignificant scale. On the seventeenth 
day of May, 1859, an ordinance was passed, granting the company 
the right to lay gas mains in the streets. March 10th, 1860, the streets 
were lighted for the first time. The pipes used, or the greater part 
of them, were cast at a little foundery then in Henderson, on the cor 
ner of Fourth and Main Streets, and were very imperfectly made. 
The leakage was immense, and this, coupled with the imperfection of 
the works, and the war coming on, caused a suspension of any further 
attempt to manufacture gas. November 24th, 1860, Hugh Kerr 
brought suit to foreclose a mortgage which was held for the sum of 
$784.00 and interest. On the eighth day of April, 1864, Samuel P. 
Spaulding, as assignee for Peter Semonin, sued to foreclose a mort- 
gage for the sum of $835.25. Judgment in both cases were taken, 
and on the twenty-fifth day of April, 1864, the works exposed to sale 
by D. N. Walden, Sheriff. At the sale J. C. Allin became the pur- 
chaser for the city, but the sale was set aside by the Court of Appeals 
and a second sale ordered. January 22d, 1866, the works were again 
sold by George A. Sugg, Sheriff, and Robert G. Rouse became the 
purchaser, and at the sum of $1,991.35. This bid was transferred to 
the city, the sale was confirmed, and a deed made. 



508 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The works remained idle until December 6th, 1866. when they were 
leased to William O'Bryan, an irresponsible character who was com- 
pelled to throw up the contract six months after. On the seventeenth 
day of July, 1869, the Council determined to place the works in com- 
plete repair, and to that end appropriated seven thousand dollars, and 
entered into contract with T. M. Jenkins, as Superintendent, for the 
term of fifteen years. At the expiration of his term of office in July, 
1884, William Canning, the present incumbant, was elected Superin- 
tendent. 

The Henderson Gas Works belong wholly to the city of Hender- 
son, and in completeness is unsurpassed by any works of that char- 
acter to be found in the West. 

The brilliancy of its production, under the superior management 
of Superintendent William Cannings, has attained the highest stand- 
ard. The streets of the city are largely lighted, and by this means 
the wayfaring man is greatly assisted in his night travels. All of the 
manufactories, including tobacco stemmeries, and a large majority of 
residences along the line of mains are consumers, so that for many years 
past these works have proven a handsome paying investment, and to- 
day as is being furnished consumers for the moderate sum of one dollar 
and seventy-five cents per thousand feet, meter measure. The city at 
this time has over four hundred consumers. The present capacity of 
the works is 50,000 feet per twenty-four hours. Recently a large ad- 
dition of machinery has been made to the works, and thus the capac- 
ity will be greatly increased. 

Henderson Cotton Mills. — This company was organized in 
1883, with a capital stock of $400,000, paid in. A large amount of 
this stock is owned in the East, notably Lowell and Hopdale, Mass. 

In 1883 the contract for building this immense mill was awarded 
the Holtzclaw Brothers, of Washington City, and very soon thereafter 
work was begun under the superintendance of W. A. Johnson. The 
main building is 324 feet in length, 95 feet in width, and is three 
stories in height. In addition to this, there is a boiler house, 40x60 
feet, engine room, 30x60 feet, and a picker room, 60x40 feet. The 
basement underneath the entire main building is used for power, first 
floor, for weaving; second floor, for spinning; third floor, for carding. 
The power consists of seven tubular boilers, 16 feet by 5 feet 
diameter, steel throughout ; fifty-four four-inch flues, with brick stack 
142 feet high and five foot flue ; one pair Reynolds' Corliss engines. 
The capacity of the mill is 600 looms, 2,200 spindles. It is lighted 



1?" 



4KIN, President. 



W.W.CUMNOCK, SUPERINTENDCNT 



P^U^.J.MARRS.S 




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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 509 

by electricity, Edison's incandescent, and has in each story fire 
hydrants and ample hose, supplied from the water mains which have 
been laid down to the mill. 

The engines that move all of this vast machinery are unsurpassed 
in strength and finish. The entire system of machinery is of the 
latest and most improved known to the manufacturing world. This 
mill, one of the largest in the West, was completed during the winter 
of 1883, '84, and commenced work September, 1885. Two hundred 
men, women and boys are employed, and weekly 160,000 yards of 
fine sheetings are manufactured and turned out in bales. So popular 
have become the brands of sheetings made by this mill, the manage- 
ment have found it beyond their limit to supply the demand made 
upon them by the jobbers of the country. Their goods are sought 
for from Cincinnati to San Francisco, and North and Northwest. 

In addition to the mill, the Company owns fourteen acres of land 
lying on both sides of Washington Street, and thirty-two double two- 
story brick tenement houses, built at a cost of $30,000, with water 
service in each, strictly for the use of operatives. 

Four thousand, five hundred bales of cotton are consumed 
annually, and their pay-roll for help aggregates $2,650 per week. By 
Eastern men,who have long engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, 
this mill is regarded equal to the best in the United States, and for 
this satisfactory result the greatest credit is due W. W. Cumnock, 
Superintendent. 

The present officers are : James E. Rankin, President , John 
H Barret, Vice President ; Paul J. Marrs, Secretary and Treasurer, 
and W. W. Cumnock, Superintendent. Directors : James E. Rankin j 
John H. Barret, R. C. Soaper, Paul J. Marrs and John H. Hodge, of 
Henderson, A. G. Cumnock, Lowell, and General William L. Draper, 
of Hopdale, Mass. As an evidence of the value of this mill's 
products, the company has declared semi-annual dividends of four 
per cent. 

Henderson Woollen Mills. — This Company filed articles of 
incorporation May 2d, 1882. The company, however, was organized 
April 15th, 1882. The original officers were : James R. Barret, 
President; M. Yeaman, Vice President; Joe. B. Alves, Secretary and 
Treasurer; James Gates, Superintendent. 

The main mill building is a large brick, three-stories, basement 
and roomy attic, making it about equal to a four-story building, height 
of ceiling considered. In addition to the main building, there is a 
picker room, 35x35, and a dye house, 30x40. Separate from the main 



510 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

building is a dry room, 18x20, and a wareroom, 70x20. These 
buildings were completed during the winter of 1882, '83, and soon 
thereafter stocked with the finest machinery purchasable. 

The power to move the machines is furnished by an automatic 
cut-off engine of large capacity and power, and a 60 inch boiler, 14 
feet long. This mill runs 60 looms, 1,700 spindles and two sets 60 
cards. One hundred and forty operatives are employed in making 
" Kentucky Jeans" of the best quality. 

In September, 1886, a pants making department was added and 
a large force of women and girls are employed in making pants for 
the jobbing trade. Forty-two sewing machines run by power are enr 
ployed, and twenty dozen pairs pants are turned out daily. Fifty persons 
are employed in this department. The company is a heavy buyer of 
foreign as well as domestic wools. June, 1886, the capital stock was 
increased and now aggregates $70,000. The regular pay-roll amounts 
to $750. The first floor or basement is used by the sewing depart- 
ment ; second floor, weaving or finishing ; third, carding and spinning ; 
fourth, stock. 

The Company enjoys a patronage equal to the capacity of the 
mill, distributed over the South and West. Present oflficers are : Jas. 
R. Barret, President; S. K. Sneed, Vice President; Joe. B. Alves, 
Secretary and Treasurer ; James Morning, Superintendent ; Samuel 
Ofner, Manager Cutting Department. 

Henderson Coal and Mining Company. — This companv was 
organized in October, 1875, the first meeting being held October 15th. 
On the thirteenth day of March, 1875, articles of incorporation were 
filed. The following named gentleman were elected officers for the 
first year: W. S. Johnson, President; James S. Alves, Secretary and 
General Superintendent; D.Banks, Jr., Treasurer. Directors: W. 
S. Johnson, Joe. B. Alves, Thomas Soaper, V. M. Mayer and Jacob 
Peters. The stock of the company was capitalized at $12,000. Work 
in sinking a shaft was commenced October 8th, 1875, and No. 9 vein 
was reached at a depth of one hundred and eighty-four feet, in May, 
1876. On the twenty-seventh day of April, 1882, the name, "Hen- 
derson Coal and Mining Company " was annulled, and substituted in 
lieu thereof "The Henderson Mining and Manufacturing Company." 
The capital stock was then increased to $36,000, and the building of 
an Ice Factory immediately begun upon the grounds of the company 
adjoining thg coal mines. The capacity of this factory was six and 
one-half tons per day, large enough tor 1882, but falling short of the 
demand made upon it at this time, and as a consequence, the com- 
pany in addition to their own manufacture, deal heavily in lake ice. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 511 

The present officers of the Mining and Manufacturing Company 
are, Thomas Soaper, President; James S. Alves, Superintendent; G. 
M. Alves, Secretary and Treasurer. Directors : Thomas Soaper, 
John H. Barret, Jr., J. Ed. Rankin, Geo. G. Ellis and Henry Bauldoff 

Fire Department. — Henderson has a fire department of which 
she is justly proud. These self-sacrificing men serve without pay, and 
no company has ever been more successful in keeping under control 
and finally subduing fires than has the Hender-son department. They 
have two large hose reels, hook and ladder wagon, with buckets, 
hooks and ladders, and three splendid horses to pull them rapidily at 
the sounding of an alarm. In addition to this they have an abund- 
ance of hose to reach any fire within the limits of the water mains. 
The fire service in Henderson is the best and most successful to be 
had. , 

The Water Works, with its great pressure and abundance of wa- 
ter, is called in aid at a moment's notice, and in the shortest time 
possible a perfect flood of water can be used. There is no breaking 
of machinery, no giving out of water as is so frequently the case in 
other cities. On the contrary, there can be thrown two steady, unceas- 
ing, strong pressure streams as long as needed. The success of this 
department in suppressing fires in the past has been remarkable. The 
following named compose the company : William Cannings, Chief; 
John Kriel, Captain ; Hector Kohl, Secretary ; Robert AJly, Abe 
Melton, William Labrey, Newton Shaw, Pat. Moran, William McCon- 
nell, Pat Byrnes, John Powers, Jim Gorman and Alex Fen\/ick. 

Banks.— The Farmers' Bank was organized on March 2d, 1850, 
and commenced business in October, 1850, in the building now occu- 
pied by the Henderson National Bank. Dr. Owen Glass was elected 
President, D. Banks, Cashier, and Henry Lyne, Clerk, or Bookkeeper. 
The capital stock of the bank was fixed at $150,000, and Wednes- 
day of each week appointed, stated Board meetings. Dr. Glass, who 
owned the building, was allowed $250 rent per annum. 

The business of the bank increased so rapidly it was determined 
by the Board to erect a banking house better suited to the times. Ta 
this end, therefore, on the 21st day of July, 1855, a lot 60x194 feet, 
lying on the North East corner of Elm and Second Cross Streets, was 
purchased of Dr. Glass for the sum of three thousand dollars. April, 
1856, a contract was entered into with W. B. Vandzant and J. E. Fa^-an 
to erect the new building. The house was completed in the early 
part of 1857, and the archives removed therein. 



512 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

The Directors at that time were Owen Glass, George Atkinson, 
Samuel Stites, John G. Holloway, James E. Rankin and David R. 
Burbank. Dr. Glass died December 29th, 1859, and John G Hollo- 
way was elected President. In February D. Banks resigned the 
Cashiership, and on March 8th, 1860, Thomas D. Tilford assumed 
charge as Cashier. May, 1860, John G. Holloway resigned the Pres- 
idency, and Joseph Adams was elected. September 1st, 1860, Henry 
Lyne resigned the Clerkship, and then the office of Teller was created, 
and Leonard H. Lyne unanimously elected to that position. Septem- 
ber 1st, 1861, Thomas D. Tilford resigned the Cashiership, and Leon- 
ard H. Lyne was elected, and John C. Herndon appointed Clerk. 
On the 12th day of July, 1866, a new Banking House, more centrally 
located, was determined upon, and the now handsome stone front 
building, a picture of which will be seen in this volume, was erected 
and occupied in 1867. The building on the northeast corner of Elm 
and Second Cross Streets was sold to the Presbyterian Church. In Janu- 
ary, 1878, Joseph Adams resigned the Presidency, and J. E. McCallis- 
ter was elected. S. K. Skneed", A. W. Overton, John C. Adams and 
William S. Lyne served their time as bookkeepers. 

October 30th, 1867, Charles T. Starling was elected Bookkeeper 
and subsequently Teller. September 25th, 1881, Col. L. H. Lyne, 
Cashier, departed this life, and on the 27th, Charles T. Starling was 
elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by his death. On the second 
day of August, 1882, Col. Jackson McClain was elected President in 
place of John E. McCallister. Edward Atkinson was elected Teller, 
and E. L. Starling, Jr., Bookkeeper; in place of A. Shelby Rudy, 
resigned, Spalding Trafton, Clerk, The present officers are, Jackson 
McClain, President; Charles T. Starling, Cashier; Edward Atkinson, 
Teller ; Edmund L. Starling, Jr., Bookkeeper and Spaulding Trafton, 
Clerk. Directors : Hon. H. F. Turner, W. J. Marshall, David Clark*, 
W. W. Shelby, Martin Schlamp, Jackson McClain and A. T. Dudley. 

This old reliable institution, under the splendid management of 
Col. L. H. Lyne, was ever one of the most successful financial corpo- 
rations in the State. During the war it continued to accommodate its 
•patrons, nevertheless it was at all times threatened by prowling bands 
of guerrillas and thieves. Col. Lyne, by prudence and constant and • 
untiring watchfulness, succeeded in bringing his bank through the war 
with only one robbery, and to him all honor is due. 

Mr. Starling, present Cashier, has succeeded eminently in sus- 
taining the former high standard of the bank, and has very materially 
increased its business. It is, as it has always been, the leading bank 



^ 




FARMERS' BANK. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 513 

of the place, and now has a capital of $319,000, with an unusually 
large deposit patronage. 

The Henderson National Bank. — Organized Nov. 21st, 1865, 
commenced business January 1st, 1866, on a capital of $100,000, in- 
creased September 20th, 1870 to $170,000, and July 2d, 1872, to 
$200,000, its present paid in capital. 

L. C. Dallam was its first President, .S- K. Sneed its first Cashier 
and [ohn H. Barrett, Jr., Clerk. 

This bank has regularly declared 5 per cent, dividend in January 
and July of each year since it commenced business, and two extra 
dividends, one of 12}4 pei" cent, and one of 15 per cent. Its present 
surplus, including premiums on its 4 per cent. U. S. bonds, amounts to 
$120,000. The stock cannot be had at less than 165, and none offered 
at that price. No bank stock in Southern Kentucky, or in this section 
of the West, ranks so high or commands such a premium. 

The average capital of this bank, since its organization, is 173,000. 
It has paid in dividends $400,000, has a surplus fund and undivided 
profits of $105,000, besides the premium on its government bonds 
stand on its books at par. Its officers and stockholders regard with 
just pride its exceptional success, and in its list of stockholders are 
to be found a large number of the wealthiest and staunchest business 
men of this community, noted as well for their enterprise as their con- 
servative and practical mode of doing business. One of the most 
prominent features of its success is the small amount of losses it has 
sustained, and perhaps no bank in this or any other city has brought 
so few suits in the twenty-one years of its existence or done more to 
encourage and promote all worthy enterprises and assist worthy busi- 
ness men. Its present Board of Directors is composed of L. C. Dal- 
lam, R. H. Soaper, John H. Barret, Jr., James R. Barret, Malcolm 
Yeaman, Thomas Soaper and S. K. Sneed. L. C. Dallam is Presi- 
dent, S. K. Sneed, Cashier ; B. G. Witt, Assistant Cashier, and Wm. 
H. Stites and Arthur Katterjohn, bookkeepers. Its deposits average 
about $200,000. 

Planters' National Bank. — This bank was established in 1888, 
with a capitalized stock of $60,000. Hon. Montgomery Merritt was 
elected President ; David Banks, Jr., Cashier, and A. Shelby Rudy, 
bookkeeper. Its stock is chiefly held by leading and influential men 
of capital and business. It is gratifying to know that under its effi- 
cient management the stock has been increased to $150,000, and the 
gradual increase in its business has fully justified the increase. This 

33 



514 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

bank has a good reserve fund and a large deposit. Its stock is largely 
beyond par, and is becomming more and more valuable year by year. 
Its officers are accommodating gentlemen, and are active in aiding, 
not alone all worthy enterprises, but all worthy borrowers. The bank 
building owned by the bank, is one of the handsomest and centrally 
located. The present officers of this bank are Hon. Montgomery 
Merritt, President ; David Banks, Jr., Cashier ; A. Shelby Rudy, and 
Ingram Crocket,Bookkeepers. Directors: Montgomery Merritt, John O. 
Byrne, James S. Alves, N. A. Kitchell, J. D. Robards and E. G. Se- 
bree, Jr. 

Railroads. — Henderson is the northern terminal of' the Hen- 
derson and Nashville Division of the Louisville & Nashville Rail- 
road, and the Ohio Valley Railroad, now working its way into the 
South. It is here the great iron bridge spans the Ohio, connecting, 
by rapid transit, the northern and southern systems of railways. It 
is confidently predicted that by August, 1888, the river road from 
Henderson to Louisville will be completed ; thus, then, Henderson 
will be recognized as a leading railway center. 

Of the Louisville & Nashville I have spoken elsewhere in this 
volume. The first dirt was broken on the line of the Ohio Valley 
road in October, 1885, and the services attending upon that happy 
occasion were intensely interesting. By invitation, a large number of 
citizens in the city were present at the designated point upon the 
lands of John H. Barrett, a half mile beyond the intersection of the 
Madisonville and Knoblick roads to witness the ceremony. A team 
of four mules hitched to an immense plow, stood waiting. The en- 
gineers had driven the stakes, twenty five or thirty colored laborers 
with bright, shining spades awaited the word. Speeches were made 
by Hon. James F. Clay, Dr. P. G. Kelsey, President of the road, 
Matthew Henning and George L. Dixon, of Evansville, Col. A. S. 
Winstead and others. Mr. John H. Barrett, by invitation, held the 
plow, while President Kelsey,with lines and whip, gave the word and the 
roadbed of the Ohio Valley was thus begun. It was a joyous afternoon 
and no one contributed more to the enhancement of the spirit of the 
crowd than did Col. Winstead, When the plow had been brought to a 
stand-still, each citizen threw several shovels of earth to the center 
and then surrendered the work to hardy manhood and returned to the 
city. The Ohio Valley sweeps through a splendid agricultural terri- 
tory "and from its evenness of surface offered every advantage to the 
road builders. The work of sub-contractors was both rapid and 
satisfactory, and on the twelfth day of March, 1886, although a 



^ 




SHELBY'S STEMMERY. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY 515 

severe winter had intervened, the first locomotive entered Corydon, a 
distance of ten or eleven miles from Henderson. The road in four, 
teen months from its beginning, was completed and trains running to 
Marion, county seat of Crittenden County. President Kelsey and 
his Chief Marshal, Jordan Giles, Secretary and Treasurer, have proven 
their ability as railroad builders by their work. The Ohio Valley, 
although incompleted, is regarded by very many citizens of more value 
to Henderson than the old established Louisville & Nashville. 

Telegraph AND Telephone.— The . Western Union and Balti- 
more & Ohio Telegraph Companies have each an office in Hender- 
son, Frank L. Adams, manager of the first, D. W. C. Worsham of the 
latter. The Great Southern Telephone and Telegraph Company was 
incorporated June 8th, 1883. Its annual elections are held in Hen- 
derson, and Captain Paul J. Marrs is one of its largest stockholders 
and most active and influential members. Thus it will be seen that 
Henderson has immediate connection with the world wherever the 
service of these companies have been extended. 

River Facilities.— Henderson being situated upon the Ohio 
River, enjoys all of the benefits afforded by water transit, to-wit : a 
line of steamers plying between Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Louisville 
to St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans. A daily line of boats to 
Louisville, another to Cairo, and a tri-daily packet to Evansville. 

Tobacco INTEREST.—Henderson is undoubtedly the largest strip 
market in the United States. By strips is meant the leaf after the 
stem has been taken from it. There are seventeen stemmeries in the 
city and eighteen in the county outside of the city. The following is 
a list, together with the estimated capacity of each house : 

John H. Barrett & Co., 800 hogsheads ; R. H. Soaper & Co., W. 
W. Shelby, D. J. Burr, Reeve & Co., David Clark and Hamilton & 
Co., 700 hogsheads each ; Allan Gilmour & Co., John H. Hodge & 
Co., E. B. Newcomb, 650 hogsheads each; W. T. Grant & Co.''and 
Wm. Elliott, 600 hogsheads each; Edwin Hodge and C. W. Wilson, 
500 hogsheads each; G. Vaughn & Co., J. D. Robards & Co., 450 
hogsheads each ; Lewis Riley and N. A. Kitchell, 200 hogsheads 
each, making a grand total of nine thousaud, seven hundred and fifty 
hogsheads of strips in the city. A. B. Weaver, just beyond the city 
limits, 200 hogsheads. 

Corydon.— John R. Wilson, 450 hogsheads ; G. W. Pritchett and 
Fred. Powell, 150 hogsheads each. Total, 750 hogsheads. 



516 HIST0RY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Cairo.— W. E. Royster & Co., 250 hogsheads; W. T. Cotting- 
ham and N. Royster & Co., 200 hogsheads each ; D. A. Denton and 
F. A. Fisher, 100 hogsheads each. Total, 850 hogsheads. 

Pool's Mills. — M. D. Thornberry and Cruse & Parker, 150 hogs- 
heads each. Total, 300 hogsheads. 

Robards' Station.— J. D. Robards & Co., 400 hogsheads. Total^ 
400 hogsheads. 

Niagara, — J. W. Porter, 200 hogsheads. Total, 200 hogsheads. 

Zion. — Smith & Baskett, 75 hogsheads. Total, 75 hogsheads. 

Hebardsville.— J. T. Hust & Co., 150 hogsheads ; Charles W. 
Johnson, 50 hogsheads. Total, 200 hogsheads. 

Scuffletown. — John S. McCormick, 300 hogsheads. Total, 300 
hogsheads. 

Smith's Mills.— W. E. Royster & Co., 200 hogsheads. Total, 
200 hogsheads. 

Making a total for city and county of thirteen thousand, two hun- 
dred and twenty-five hogsheads. 

In addition to this, fully fifteen hundred hogsheads of leaf are 
handled. This immense business gives employment to fully fifteen 
hundred operatives. One hogshead of strips represents about one 
hundred and fifty dollars, so it will be seen when the stemmers do a 
full business it requires the outlay- of two millions or more of dollars. 

Tobacco Manufacturers. — On January 22d, 1883, Messrs. J. 
D. Robards and N, A. Kitchell, under the firm name of the " Robards- 
Kitchell Manufacturing Company," filed their articles of incorpora- 
tion. This, then, was the first manufactory ever organized in Henderson. 
The business was begun and carried on for a short time in the present 
John H. Hodge stemmery, but was subsequently removed to Mr. 
Robards' stemmery, on the corner of Second and Adam Streets, where 
it is at this time. Within the past three months. Dr. Kitchell sold 
his interest and the firm is now J. D. Robards & Co., being com- 
posed of J. D. and E. T. Robards. The finest chewing and smoking 
tobaccos are manufactured, and none but the best material is used. 
The celebrated Greenville brand of chewing tobacco is made. The 
firm has ample capacity and means to push the work to any desired 
extent. Between fifteen hundred and two thousand pounds of to- 
bacco are handled daily. Their trade is mostly South. Between 
twenty-five and thirty persons are employed. 

Thomas B. Hodge, in 1884, established the celebrated Hodge 
Tobacco Manufactory on Lower Main, between Dixon and Jefferson 



^ 




THOS. HODGE'S TOBACCO FACTORY. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 517 

Streets. This is by far the largest and most complete manufactory in 
the State, outside of the City of Louisville. The building is a laro-e 
one and contains every conv^iience. It is supplied with the best 
machinery, and new additions, to facilitate work, are constantly being 
made. A large force of experts are employed and the best brands of 
chewing tobaccos known to the trade are turned out in large quan- 
tities. Between fifty and sixty operatives find employment in the 
factory, and between two thousand five hundred and three thousand 
pounds of tobacco is manufactured daily. 

Distilling. — The first distillery of which anything is known was 
a little kettle concern for manufacturing apple and peach brandy, 
operated by Mr. Melton. He, perhaps, made as much as twenty-five 
gallons per year. There were others in early times, but the introduc- 
tion by merchants of cheaper goods eventuated in pretty much break- 
ing up the little stills in the county. Mr. Melton held on until the 
beginning of the war, when, by reason of the stringency of the reve- 
nue laws and the taxes, he suspended operations. The first whisky 
distillery known in the county was built by D. R. Burbank, in the 
Town of Henderson, in 1867-'8. This "was a large house and made 
several large crops of whisky, which found a ready market. The 
next distillery built was that of Starling & McClain, in 1872. A few 
years subsequent to this another was built opposite Evansville, and 
shortly after burned. The first two ceased operations and have long 
since been torn down. 

During the summer and fall of 1880 Messrs. A. S. Winstead and 
N. B. Hill, under the firm name of Hill & Winstead, who, havino- 
purchased the buildings and grounds of the Henderson Car Works, 
formed a copartnership under the firm name of Hill & Winstead for 
the purpose of distilling. The buildings were remodeled and ar- 
ranged for the purpose, and the first whisky made during the winter 
of that year. The capacity of this house is twenty barrels per twenty- 
four hours, but it has, owing to the over supply of whiskies on the 
market, never been run beyond half capacity. They manufacture 
the renowned " Silk Velvet " sour mash, and meet with ready sales. 
Large numbers of cattle and swine are fed from the offal. 

E. W. WoRSHAM & Co.— During the summer of 1881 E. W. Wor- 
sham and J. B. Johnston, under the firm name of E. W. Worsham & 
Co., purchased ground and commenced the building of the present 
distillery, situated between the line of the L. & N. R, R, and Canoe 
Creek, fronting Center Street. This house was completed and fully 



518 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Stocked with all the machinery and necessary apparatus for manufac- 
turing the finest quality of sour mash whisky, and commenced opera- 
tions during the winter of 1881. Its original making capacity was 
twenty barrels per twenty-fours hours, but subsequently cut down, and 
has never been taxed at over eight bairels per day. Twenty-seven 
hundred and sixty-seven barrels of the favorite "Peerless" have been 
made, and there is but little of it that has not found a ready market. 
January 1st, 1887, Mr. Worsham assumed sole charge of the distil- 
lery and associated with himself in the wholesale house his two sons, 
Andrew J. and D. W. C. Worsham. 

Withers, Dade & Co. — During the summer of 1881, Messrs. J. 
E. Withers, H. F. Dade, and Captain Charles G. Perkins, under the 
firm name of Withers, Dade & Co., purchased the necessary ground 
upon the Evansville road, two miles from the Court House, and built 
a ten barrel house. They have made three crops, a total of over three 
thousand barrels, of superior sour mash, and found ready buyers for 
their make. This is one of the most complete houses in the State, 
and its make of whisky ranks with the best known to the trade. 

Brewery. — The Henderson Brewery was established many years 
ago by Reutlinger & Klauder. Some time after the firm was changed 
to Reutlinger & Isefelder, and so remained to September 16th, 1885, 
when, by a boiler explosion, the machinery was rendered inoperative, 
and the firm suspended operations. 

From that time, and up to May, 1887, the brewery remained idle. It 
was then sold to George H. Delvin & Co., and in a short time placed 
in complete repair and once again resumed operations. This brewery 
is one of large capacity and is supplied with all of the latest and 
most valuable machinery, including an ice machine, with engines, 
pumps, pipes, and other necessary appendages, costing the original 
owners near twenty thousand dollars. 

Hominy AND Flouring Mills, Etc. — The Henderson Hominy 
Mill was established in 1882, Messrs. W. W. Shelby, William Soaper 
and F. L. Turner constituting the firm. A large mill, completely 
equipped with machinery for doing first class work, was soon after 
ready and commenced work, its capacity ranging in the neighborhood 
of three hundred barrels per day. In 1884 Mr. Turner withdrew 
from the firm and since that time the firm has been Shelby & Soaper. 
Mr. Shelby has given his entire time to it.« management and a brilli- 
ant success has crowned his efforts. They are very heavy purchasers 
of corn, confining their purchases not alone to Henderson County, 




SHELBY & SOAPER'S HOMINY MILL. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 519 

but above and below on the Ohio and Wabash Rivers. They run a 
number of barges and a steamboat for towing. They manufacture 
the finest flint hominy, grits,^Dearl meal and feed meal, for which 
they find a ready market. This mill runs day and night in order to 
keep up with the demand made upon it. 

In 1884 the Pearl and Grit Mills was built by F. L. Turner and 
W. J. Marshall, Jr. Its capacity is not so large as the Henderson 
Mill, but it is in every way a first class manufactory. It suspended 
operations several months since and is yet idle. 

Flouring Mills. — Henderson has three flouring mills, finely 
equipped for turning out the best brands of flour. They are also pro- 
ducers of meal of a superior quality. In addition to these, Webster 
Gate owns and operates a grist mill that supplies a large local terri 
tory. There is also a fine flour and grist mill at Gorydon, Gairo and 
Zion, in the county, besides several grist mills of small capacity. 
Steam has taken the place of the old-fashioned sweep and tread, and 
the latest machinery is alone used. 

Buggies, Garriages, Etc. — The Henderson Buggy Go. was organ- 
ized in November, 1882, with a paid up capital of $50,000. Its officers 
were, and are at this time, with the exception of Superintendent, Gap* 
tain G. G. Perkins, President; John H. Barret, Jr., Vice President ; 
Bernard G. Witt, Secretary and Treasurer, and George Delker, Super- 
intendent. Two years since Mr. Delker withdrew from the company. 
A- Tonnini is now Superintendent. This company employs during 
the busy season from fifty to sixty operatives, and their manufacture 
of buggies, phaetons, etc., are unsurpassed by any manufactory in 
the country. They enjoy a large trade and turn out from three to 
five hundred vehicles annually. 

George Delker & Go., manufacturers and dealers in buggies, 
carriages and phaetons, do first class work. 

Wood Work and* Blacksmithing. — Delvin & Holloway, corner 
Elm and Fourth Streets ; R. G. Blackwell, east side Elm ; R. S. Smith 
& Bro., Willey Bros., Mike Brown, First Street, between Elm and In- 
gram ; William Wagner, corner Fifth and Green. 

Foundry and Machine Shops. — Delvin & Hollaway, corner 
Elm and Fourth Streets. All kinds of castings and machine work 
done on short notice and guaranteed. 

Broom and Mattress. — Messrs. W. G. Neal & Bro. have re- 
cently established a broom and niattress factory at the corner of 
Fourth and Adams Streets, 



520 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Building and Loan Association. —The success attending the 
management of the Henderson Building and Loan Association is 
somewhat phenomenal. While the Association, in its inception, was 
not intended as a scheme of pure philanthropy, its results have come 
fully up to the hopes of its founders in this respect, as is attested by 
the hundreds of happy homes, bought and paid for through its instru- 
mentality. The Association opened its books to receive dues on 
March 1st, 1874. The first series had subscribed to its capital stock 
at the end of the first six months 784 shares. But by the time this 
series was paid up, which was in September, 1878, the capital stock 
had been reduced, by withdrawals, to 304 shares. The series imme- 
diately succeeding this were small, in comparison with the first, none 
of them reaching a subscribed capital of more than 100 shares, until 
the tenth series was opened, since when the Directors have been 
compelled to refuse to receive numbers of subscriptions at the opening 
of each series. Sixteen series have been paid off. The Association, 
since its organization, has made 370 loans, amounting in the aggre- 
gate to $277,500. About 250 of these loans were made for the pur- 
pose of building homes for the borrowers, fifty of which have been 
paid off, leaving them in possession in fee simple of their own homes, 
at very little greater cost to them than their rents would have amounted 
to. Non-discounting stockholders, who held their stock until paid up, 
have been paid $114,000. In addition to this the Association has 
purchased stock before^it matured for which it paid $39,000 in cash,^ 
making the total amount paid to non-borrowing stockholders $193,600. 
The following are the officers of this corporation : VV. S. Johnson, 
President; B. G.Witt, Secretary and Treasurer; Directors, W. S. 
Johnson, J. W. Allen, Peter Geibel, F. P. Geibel, T. M. Jenkins, R. 
C. Blackwell, Lsaac Mann, H. S. Rudy and B. G. Witt. 

People's Homestead and Saving Association. — On the four- 
teenth day of April, 1877 this Association was incorporated. It is 
similar in its aims and purposes to the Building and Loan. Three 
series of stock have been sold, ranging from one hundred to two 
hundred shares of one hundred dollars each. The' officers of the 
Association are : John O'Byrne, President ; G, M. Alves, Secretary 
and Treasurer ; Directors, John O'Byrne, G. M. Alves, Ed. Oberdor- 
fer, Maurice Bauldoff and D. Banks, Jr. 

Coal Mines and Coal Agents. — The People's Mines, worked 
by P. J. McNamarra & Co., is situated two miles from the city on 
the Knoblick road. These mines supply a large quantity of superior 
coal to the city, and an equal amount to the country around and be- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 521 

yond the mines. As a coal market Henderson has no superior, for 
quahty, quantity and cheapness. 

St. Bernard Mines. — TlTis great company, located in Hopkins 
County, does through its agent, Hon. John C. Atkinson, .tu immense 
business in the city and county. The coal is of a superior quality for 
steam, grate or cooking purposes. 

Ohio Valley Coal. — This coal, recently introduced into this 
market, and controlled by S. H. Lambert, Agent, is said to be the 
equal of Pittsburg coal for all purposes save gas. 

There is no danger of a coal famine and no danger of coal be- 
ing placed at an exorbitant price. Indeed, when Louisville and other 
cities, during extreme cold winters, are obliged to pay dearly for their 
coal, and limited in quantity at that, Henderson is abundantly sup- 
plied, and at a very moderate cost. Competition is too great here 
even to admit of a combination raising the price. 

Saw Mills. — In 1856 Joseph Clore built the frame work of his 
present mill at the foot of Sixth Street, and commenced business with 
the old-fashioned upright saw. Since that time wonderful changes 
have been introduced. The circular saw has taken the pla:e of the 
upright, and machinery, wonderful in labor saving, has been invented. 
The capacity of the mill at the present time is 40,000 feet per day, 
running one saw. Henderson, and the entire country around, for 
many years past, has been supplied from this mill. For several years 
it has been operated under the firm name of Joseph Clore & Sons. 
In connection with the saw mill is a planing mill of very large capa- 
city, fitted throughout with the latest and most expensive machines 
for doing all manner of first class wood work. The firm builds and 
completes houses, as well as furnish contractors with all articles ne- 
cessary in house building. In addition to a heavy local demand, they 
are large shippers of lumber and building materials to points beyond 
the State. Every article made of wood for office or house building. 
from an ordinary window frame to the finest office furniture, is man- 
ufactured on short notice by this firm. Over seven acres of land is 
largely stacked with lumber, and in this it is their endeavor to always 
keep a large supply on hand. No better manufacturers are to be 
found in the West. Eighty men are given employment. 

R. H. Clayton, several months since, purchased what is known 
as the Old Fruit Mill, remodeled it, and is engaged in sawing for the 
trade. 

Portable Mills. — There are several of these mills engaged in the 
county. Among the number, Judge Gillams 



522 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

County Roads. — There are no better roads to be found in any 
country than those of Henderson County, in fact, the writer was told 
by a very distinguished traveled gentleman, a short time since, that 
he had never seen their equal. It is not only the case as regards the 
main arteries, but those tributary are equally as good. A history of 
the gravel roads will be found elsewhere in this volume. 

Henderson Lands. — For the growth of corn, tobacco, wheat, 
oats, rye, melons, and all the grasses, the lands of this county are 
unsurpassed. Rents are cheap, taxes low, educational and church 
advantages superior, and society good. What more could be offered .'' 
All of these are to the credit of Henderson. 

Henderson Fair Company. — This company was incorporated 
in March, 1865, and has held annual fairs, with a more or less degree 
of success. The grounds of the company are located one mile from 
the Court House on the Morganfield gravel road, and are as hand- 
some as any to be found in Kentucky, or elsewhere. The premiums 
offered are liberal. 

Incorporations. — Kentucky Land Improvement Company, Oc- 
tober 14th, 1886. 

Cumberland Land and Iron Company, January 6th, 1887. 

Henderson Real Estate and Improvement Association, April 
14th, 1887. 

Rock, Natural Gas, Mining and Manufacturing Company, May 
30th, 1887. 

Brand's Perfection Hames Company, May 30th, 1887. 

Congregation Adas Israel, June 8th, 1887. 

Cairo High School, July 12th 1887. 

Hotels. Henderson prides herself in her excellent hotels 
There are eight hotels and fifteen boarding houses, the Barret House, 
Williams House, Clegg's, Commercial and Duncan's leading in the 
lisL. 

Barret House. — This hotel, formerly the Hord House, was re- 
built and greatly enlarged by its present , owner, John H. Barret, in 
1885. It is one of the handsomest buildings west of Louisville and 
is notably first class in all of its appointments. Messrs Sugg & Can- 
non, proprietors, are universally popular and deservedly enjoy the 
high reputation they have earned by close application to business and 
the comfort of their guests. The house is elegantly furnished and 
supplied with all modern conveniences. 

Brick Yards. — Kleymeyer & Klute are the manufacturers of 
the very best article of building brick. They operate two large kilns 
and one smaller one, and are thus not only able to supply the local 
demand but frequently ship hundreds of thousands out of the county. 
In addition to their brick manufacturing, this firm manufactures on a 
large scale tiling for underground drainage. In both instances, none 
but the best soil and best modes of burning are employed. 

At Rankin Station, several miles out on the L. & N. R. R., is 
another tile factory that supplies a large territory of country. 




BARRET HOUSE. 



^ 



SKETCHES AND RECOLLECTIONS, 



Incidents in the History of the People, Sad, Humorous and 



Interesting. 



A BLOODY LEGEND. 

SKETCH OF BIG AND LITTLE HARPE. 

T^EADERS of this article wiH recaU the blood-curdling stories told 
X them of the Harpes, who, in the early settlement of Henderson 
County, were the terror of the pioneer. Many persons in this and 
adjoining counties remember how, in their childhood, these stories 
awakened the keenest sense of fear, and were the occasion of almost 
agonizing sensations as they passed along the wilderness roads, ever 
on the lookout to be accosted by these terrible men. Their deeds of 
daring and desperate designs placed them at the head of all early 
desperadoes. Their history in this portion of Kentucky has long ago 
and repeatedly found its way into the histories of Kentucky and 
other States, in pamphlets and the newspapers of the country, and at 
one time even dramatized for the American stage. But it was so des- 
perate and appalling to all rational sensibilities that it was abandoned 
by the drama. 

In giving a history of these desperately wicked men, I shall be 
as brief as possible, knowing full well that only a faint idea can be 
given in the brief space allotted. The Harpes, consisting of "Big" 
Harpe and his two wives, Sally Harpe and Betsy Roberts, and " Little " 
Harpe and Susanna, his wife, came into Kentucky from East Tennes- 
see in the year 1798. They had lived in Tennessee, and at one time 
were confined in the Knoxville jail on suspicion of crime, when they 



624 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

were innocent. Upon being released they declared war against all 
mankind, and determined to rob and murder until they themselves 
were killed. Their appearance was wild and rude in the extreme. 
Big Harpe was above the ordinary stature, bony and muscular, his 
clothes dirty and shabby, distinguishing him as a man wholly unused 
to the courtesies of civilized life. His countenance was so repulsive 
that every indication of villainy was plainly marked thereon. He 
wore no covering on his head, so the natural protection of thick, 
coarse hair, of a fiery red, uncombed and matted, gave evidence of the 
rudest exposure. He was armed with a rifle, knife and tomahawk. 
He was a veritable outlaw, destitute of every touch of human nature, 
and prepared, at all points, for assault and defense. 

Little Harpe was a smaller man, but, in other respects, the coun- 
terpart of his co-worker in crime, and with him frequently engaged in 
riotous drunkenness and debauchery. Their travel through the wil- 
derness roads of Kentucky was marked by human blood. They were 
captured and confined in the jail at Danville, but soon after made 
their escape, and started en route for the mouth of Green River, mark- 
ing their path by robberies and murders of the most horrible and 
brutal character. The district they traveled was wild and thinly pop- 
ulated, and for this reason their outrages went unpunished. They 
seemed inspired with the deadliest hatred against the whole human 
race, and such was their implacable misanthropy that they were known 
to kill where there was no temptation to rob. One of their victims 
was a little girl, found at some distance from her home, whose tender 
age, and helplessness, would have been a protection against any but 
incarnate fiends. Every human met by them prior to their arrival at 
Green River became a victim to their implacable thirst for blood. The 
Harpe women had preceded their husbands to Henderson County, 
and had settled about six miles from the town, in the direction of 
Madison ville, where they lived during the winter of 1798, '99, and 
passed themselves as widows. Micajah, or Big Harpe, and Wiley, or 
Little Harpe, pushed their way on into Henderson County, where they 
soon after rejoined their wives, and started in the direction of Ten- 
nessee. They remained some time in what is now known as Hopkins 
County. This county, at that time, was a wilderness, with but a few 
scattered settlers. The Harpes rode good horses, and at that time 
dressed well, in the clothes of their murdered victims. They werp 
all the time heavily armed, and the condition of the country was their 
apology for such equipments. The following is a condensed history 
of their devilish deeds done in Henderson County, as narrated by 
Mr. John B. Ruby to Judge Underwood, many years ago : 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 525 

While passing along the road, presumably en route South, the 
Harpes stopped for dinner at the house of a settler named James 
Tompkins, near Steuben's Lick-jE.and while there passed themselves 
for Methodist preachers, and one of them actually said grace at the 
table. 

The conversation turned on the general character of the country. 
One of them asked Mr. Tompkins if he hunted much, who replied that 
he did when he had the ammunition, but for some time he had been 
without powder and notwithstanding deer was so plenty, he never had 
any venison to eat. Thereupon the Harpes, with affected generosity, 
made a liberal division of their stock of powder with Mr. Tompkins. 
It will be seen in the sequel, that by a most singular providence, Big 
Harpe was mortally wounded by his own powder thus given to Mr. 
Tompkins. 

After dinner they resumed their journey. The first cabin passed 
was that of Moses Stigall, then occupied by his wife and little child, 
Stigall being from home. This cabin was five miles from Tompkins, 
The next settlement was Peter Ruby's, eleven miles from Stigall's. John 
B. Ruby was at Peter Ruby's and saw the Harpes pass. They 
camped for the night a few miles from Stigall's, who, it is claimed, 
owed one of the Harpe women a dollar. Stigall met the party in the 
fiats of Deer Creek as he was going to Robinson's Lick for salt and 
was told of the owing dollar. He told the Harpe woman to call upon 
his wife in passing, giving explicit directions where his wife could find 
the money. The women went to Mrs. Stigalls and told her what her 
husband had said. She found his purse, containing about $40.00 in 
silver, out of which she paid the claimed dollar. The wives then told 
their husbands how much money Mrs. Stigall seemed to have, and 
this led to the perpetration during the following night of the last 
dreadful act of barbarity in the long list of horrible tragedies of which 
the Harpers were guilty. 

Mrs. Stigall was a young woman with only one child. A man by 
the nanie of Love was staying that night at the house. The two 
Harpes left their camp, and went to the house of Stigall, got the 
money, murdered his wife and child and Mr. Love, then set fire to the 
house of Stigall and burnt up the murdered bodies and all that was in the 
house. Two men named Hudgens and Gillmore, were returning from 
the lick with their packs of salt and camped for the night not far from 
Stigall's. About daylight the Harpes went to their camp and arrested 
them under pretense that they had committed robbery,murder and arson 
at the house of Stigall. They shot Gillmore, who died on the spot. Hud- 



526 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

gens broke and ran, but was overtaken by the Harpes and put to 
death. These things were stated by the women after Big Harpe's 
death. 

News of these murders spread through the scattered population 
with rapidity. Stigall returned to find no wife to welcome him, no 
home to receive him. Distracted with grief and rage he turned his 
horse's head from the smouldering ruins and repaired to the house of 
Captain John Leeper, who was one of the most powerful men of 
his day, and as fearless as powerful. Alarm and excitement pervaded 
every heart, men assembled at the call of Stigall and Leeper to con- 
sult and to act. The conclusion was universal that these crimes were 
the deeds of the Harpes. Large rewards for their heads, dead or 
alive, had been publicly offered, and the pioneers of the wilderness 
were determined upon their capture. A company was formed, con- 
sisting of John Leeper, James Tompkins, Silas Magby, Neville Lind- 
sey, Matthew Christian, Robert Robertson and the infuriated Moses 
Stigall. If there were any others, their names have been forgotten. 
These men, armed with rifles, got on the the trail of the Harpes and 
overtook them at their camp upon the waters of Pond River. 

About a quarter of a mile from camp, the pursuing party saw 
Little Harpe and a man named Smith, who had been hunting horses 
in the range, conversing near a branch of water. Little Harpe 
charged Smith with being a horse thief, and blew in his charger, (a 
small instrument with which the hunter measures his powder in load- 
ing his gun). The shrill sound, their usual signal for danger, soon 
brought Big Harpe to see what was the matter. The pursuing party 
and Big Harpe arrived at the branch in opposite directions, at nearly 
the same time. Big Harpe came mounted on a fine gray mare, the 
property of the murdered Love, which he had appropriated. The 
pursuers, not doubting the guilt of those whom they had overtaken, 
without warning fired upon them, badly wounding Smith, but not hit- 
ting either of the Harpes. Big Harpe was in the act of shooting Smith 
as those in front among the pursuers fired. He had already cocked 
his gun and told Smith he must die. But surprised by the volley and 
by the rushing up of the persons, he reserved his fire, whirled Love's 
mare around and galloped off to his camp. Little Harpe ran off on 
foot to a thicket and was not seen afterwards. 

On reaching Smith, the pursuers were detained listening to his 
explanation. He was regarded as an accomplice of the Harpes, but 
soon demonstrated his innocence and his life was spared. The pur- 
suers hastened towards the camp and saw Big Harpe hastily saddling 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 627 

the horses and preparing to take the women off with him. Seeing 
their rapid approach, he mounted Love's mare, armed with rifle and 
pistols, and darted off, leaving the women and children to provide for 
themselves. They were made prisoners, and Magby, a large, fat man, 
unfitted for the chase, and one other were left to guard them. Love's 
mare was large and strong and carried the two-hundred weight of her 
rider, Big Harpe, with much ease, and he seemed to call on her to ex- 
pend all her strength in his behalf. Tompkins, rather a small man, rode 
a thorough-bred, full-blooded bay mare of the best Virginia stock, and 
led in the pursuit. He had chased thieves before, and the only ac- 
count he gave of one of them was " that he would never steal another 
horse." Nance, his mare, exhibited both speed and bottom in this 
race of life or death. The other horses were nothing like equal to 
Nance or to the Love mare, and their riders being large men. Big 
Harpe might entertain hopes of escape. 

In the first two or three miles, he kept far ah ad, no one trailing 
in sight except Tompkins. There was no difficulty in following 
through the rich, mellow soil of the wilderness, the tracks made by 
the horses of Harpe and Tompkins. Leeper was second in the chase 
and the others followed as rapidly as possible. As the race pro- 
gressed. Big Harpe drove into a thick forest of large trees upon a 
creek bottom. Here he was overhauled by Tompkins. Each reined 
up his^foaming steed and stopped. Neither attempted to fire. Tomp- 
kins told Harpe that escape was impossible and he had better 
surrender. " Never ! " was the quick reply. At that moment Leeper 
was in sight. Harpe again dashed off at full speed, while Tompkins 
tarried for Leeper. As soon as he came up he said, " Why didn't 
you shoot ? " Tompkins replied that his mare was so fiery he could not 
make a safe shot upon her and he would not fire unless he was sure of 
execution. Leeper had fired upon the Harpes and Smith at the 
branch, and finding that his ramrod could not be withdrawn in conse- 
quence of its having got wet, told Tompkins he could not reload, that 
his horse was fast failing, and that Harpe would escape unless 
" Nance " could catch him. Tompkins replied, " that she could run 
over Harpe's mare on any part of the ground." Leeper said, "Let's 
exchange horses and give me your gun and shot pouch and I'll bring 
him down if I can overtake him." They dismounted and exchanged 
horses and arms and Leeper dashed forward after Big Harpe. The 
noble mare proved her ability to " run over him upon any part of the 
ground." 



528 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

Leeper crossed the creek and after passing through the thick, 
tall trees in the bottom, came in sight of the fleeing Harpe as he 
reached higher ground with its prairie grass and scattered trees. The 
gray mare (not) the better horse, Nance gradually gained upon her. 
When Leeper got up within thirty yards, Harpe warned him " to stand 
off or he would kill him. " Leeper replied, " One of us has to die, 
and the hardest fend off." 

As the woods became more open and interposed fewer obstruc- 
tions, Leeper thought he had a good chance. Suddenly putting 
" Nance" to her full speed, he rushed up within ten steps of Harpe, 
threw his leg over the mane, and the bridle over Nance's head and 
jumped to the ground, took aim and fired. Harpe reined up, turned, 
presented his gun, and it snapped — all without dismounting. Leeper 
afterwards said : " If Harpcs' gun had not snapped, the ball would 
not have passed within twenty yards of me, so badly was it aimed." 
Harpe then threw the gun down, wheeled the gray mare and pushed 
on his course. From these circumstances Leeper knew he had hit 
him. He caught and remounted Nance and soon overtook Harpe, 
who told him to keep off or he would shoot him with a pistol. In a 
few seconds Harpe ceased to urge the gray mare forward and put 
both his hands to the pommel of the saddle to hold on. Leeper 
rushed alongside and threw him to the ground. Two balls had 
entered near the back bone and came out near the breast bone, 
Harpe begged that he might be taken to justice and not be jjut to 
instant death. Leeper told him that his request was useless ; that his 
wound was fatal and he must soon die. 

He then asked for a drink of water. Leeper walked away to a 
branch close by, and, taking off one of his shoes, filled it with water 
and started on his return to the wounded outlaw. At this time James 
Tompkins, Stigall, and others, dashed up, and, without ceremony, 
Stigall dismounted, drew his knife, and severed Big Harpe's head 
from the body; and thus perished the most brutal of all brutal mon- 
sters. A tall young tree, growing by the side of the trail, or road, 
was selected, and trimmed of its lateral branches to the top, and then 
pointed. On this point the head was fastened, the skull and jaw bones 
remaining there for many years, after all else had mingled with the 
dust. Near by stood a large tree in which was plainly cut the initials 
of the dead outlaw, *'U. H.," which were plainly visible up to a few 
years since. The place where this tree grew is in the present County 
of Webster, at the intersection of the Henderson and Morganfield 
and Madisonville roads. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 529 

It will be remembered that the three Harpe women were left at 
the camp, prisoners, in charge of two of the Leeper party. Immedi- 
ately after the killing of Big Harpe the women, with their children 
(each woman had a young child), were brought to the town of Hen- 
derson and confined in the little log dungeon, then located on the 
river bank, near the present bridge. 

On the fourth day of September, 1799, a Court of Quarter Ses- 
sions was called for the examination of Susanna and Sally Harpe and 
Betsey Roberts, committed as parties to the murder of Mrs. Stigall, 
James Stigall, an infant, and William Love, a school teacher, on the 
twentieth day of August. The trial was held by Justices Samuel Hop- 
kins and Abram Landers. They were found guilty and remanded to 
jail. Subsequently the women were taken, under order of the Court, 
by Andrew Rowan, Sheriff, and Amos Kuykendall, John Standley, 
Green Massey, Nevil Lindsay and Gibson Harden, to Russellville, 
Ky., there to await the action of the Grand Jury. They were tried 
at Russellville and cleared. 

Nothing is known of the after life of Big Harpe's two wives, but 
the wife of Little Harpe, who was represented as being a young wo- 
man of great beauty, married a highly respectable man in Tennessee, 
and raised a large family of children, all esteemed for sobriety, hon- 
esty and industry. The name of the gentleman has ever been with- 
held, because a silly world might take occasion to reflect upon the 
children, in consequence of the mother's connection with the Harpes. 
Little Harpe escaped to Mississippi and was there hung for his devil- 
ment. 

Moses Stigallwhose wife was killed by the Harpes, turned out to be 
himself a bad man. In less than one year after the murder of his wife 
and child he was married to Ellen Vane, and a short time after was 
himself killed for aiding Joshua Fleehart in running away with a Miss 
Maddox. Peak Fletcher and a brother of the young woman pur- 
sued the runaways and overtook them in the Territory of Illinois. 
They were found at night in a log cabin, which was cautiously and si- 
lently approached, and at a given signal Fletcher and Maddox fired 
through the chinks of the cabin and killed both Fleehart and Stigall. 
Miss Maddox was sitting at the time in the lap of her lover, with an 
arm around his neck. 

On December 16th, 1799, by an Act of the Legislature of Ken- 
tucky, the reward of $300, offered by the Governor for the capture of 
the Harpes, was allowed to John Leeper, and thus ends the brief his- 
tory of two of the boldest and most noted freebooters who have ever 
cursed America. • 

34 



530 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

HENDERSON'S STEAMBOAT INTERESTS. 

The Louisville and Henderson Packet Company was organ- 
ized in 1848 by the Lodwick Brothers. The Gallant, a medium sized 
side-wheeler, with single engines, one hundred and fifty feet long, being 
the first boat in the trade. It was in the employ of this company, 
and on this boat Captain W. W. Huston, of this city, commenced his 
river life. This steamer was soon followed by the Fawn, a very fast, 
single engine boat. Captain Huston served in ihe office of this boat. 
The Fawn burned a short time after. The Mavflower was then 
placed in the trade, Capt. George W. Wick, now a large tobacco 
dealer of Louisville, Commander. She was followed by the James 
Pitcher, a small, double engined side-wheeler. The Pitcher was 
burned. In 1846, Capt. Paxton placed the Meteor in the trade, and 
she was followed in 1847 by the Hibernia. He then purchased the 
Atlantis and ran her in connection with the Hibernia. These boats 
were taken out of the trade and the Clipper, a side-wheel, double-en- 
gine steamer, substituted. She was commanded by Capt. Joe Bunce, 
of Henderson, with Captain Huston in the office. She was followed 
by the Swallow, then the Cornelia, until 1848, when the Atlantis was 
brought back again. This boat was withdrawn and the Mary Stevens 
took her place until 1850, when another Clipper took her place. The 
Herman took the place of the Clipper, and on one of her trips was 
run into by the Ironton just around the upper bend, and was badly 
crippled. Hon. John C. Atkinson, Wm. T. Barret and James Wilson 
were passengers on the Herman at that time. -The Van Leer took 
the place of the Herman and sunk in her second trip at the mouth of 
Salt River, proving a total loss. The Farmer was then chartered 
until the New Fawn was completed. She took her place in the 
Henderson trade and continued for some time. In 1854, the 
owners of the Fawn contracted for the building of the Rainbow. 
This steamer was noted for her speed. She measured horns with the 
largest and best boats and was. never defeated. She entered 
the trade in the fall of 1854. In 1856 she entered the New 
Orleans trade and was burned on the twenty-second day of 
November, 1857, at Alexander's woodyard, ten miles above Na- 
poleon, Arkansas, with great loss of life and property. She made 
the run from Henderson to Evansville in fifty-two minutes, the fastest, 
perhaps, on record, with the exception of the famous Robt. E. Lee. 
Since that time the Little Grey Eagle, Big Grey Eagle, Tishomingo, 
Sciota and Eugene have run in the Henderson trade. During the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 531 

early part of the war, the Tarascon and Morning Star were built. 
The present James Guthrie took the place of the Tarascon, then the 
Grey Eagle. There are three^tboats in the line at this time : James 
Guthrie, Rainbow and City of Owensboro. 

Henderson and Evansville. — During the year 1868, Captains 
C. G. Perkins and S. H. Lambert purchased the little steamboat 
Newsboy, a speedy, little stern-wheeler, and ran her between 
this city and Evansville, making daily trips. Prior to that time 
there had been other boats, and during- the days of the Newsboy 
there was opposition, but it finally succumbed to the inevitable. Cap- 
tain Perkins soon became sole owner, and finding the trade increas- 
ing and demanding a larger and better boat, he .purchased the side- 
wheel steamer, Mollie Norton. A short time after her purchase, a 
partnership was formed between Captains A. O. Durland "and C. G. 
Perkins, under the name of Durland & Perkins. A short time subse- 
quent to this partnership a contract was entered into by and between 
Durland & Perkins and the St. Louis and Southeastern Railroad for 
transferring freight and passenger cars by water from Henderson to 
Evansville and vice versa. The Norton was then sold,and the towboat 
Leclaire No. 2 and one or two railway barges were purchased, 
and by this means the cars were transferred. Notwithstanding the 
pecuniary success attending this enterprise, Durland & Perkins 
seemed singularly fated. In 1869 the LeClaire was cut down 
by the ice and proved a loss. The Maggie Smith was then purchased 
and was employed in the line until the winter of 1882, when she was 
lost in the ice. The Belmont was purchased and ran until that ill- 
fated day in August, 1884, a day that cast more gloom over Hender- 
son than had ever been known before, or has been known since. It 
was on Thursday, the 29th day of August, a terrific hurricane swept over 
Henderson, unroofing houses and tearing up by their roots trees as 
though they were tinder wood. At the head of the Upper Island, and 
in view of the city, the storm was even greater, and when at its full 
height, caught the Belmont with barge in tow, capsizing her near mid- 
river. There were a number of passengers in the cabin of the boat, 
as well as in the cars on the ba'rge. All of the passengers, with perhaps 
one or two exceptions, who were in the cabin became victims to the 
merciless waters, Mrs. Lyon and two daughters, of Evansville, Mrs. 
Murray and infant child, and her sister, and Captain John Smith 
among the number. The railway barge drifted to the Kentucky 
shore and the passengers were all soon ashore. The Jennie Camp, 
bell and Iron Cliff were purchased and both ran in the trade up to the 



532 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

completion of the bridge, when the contract with Durland & Per 
kins expired. The Jennie Campbell since that time has continued to 
make tri-daily trips between the two cities and is a great convenience. 
Notwithstanding the heavy losses sustained by the packet firm, they 
have amassed a handsome fortune. 

Sinking of the Major Barbour. — The Barbour was a small 
but very fast side-wheel boat running in the Louisville, Henderson 
& Bowling Green Packet trade. The greater part of her stock was 
owned in Henderson, and three Henderson gentlemen, namely Cap- 
tain Harry I Spotts, Commander, Henry Lyne, First Clerk, and 
Alney M. Allison, Second Clerk, were the officers in charge. In going 
up the river before daylight on the third day of February, 1848, she 
was run into by the steamer Paul Jones and sunk. There were no 
whistles in \hose days, and the signals for passing were given by a 
certain number of bell taps. On this fated morning the Barbour in 
rounding out from Cannelton, through a mistake in the signals was 
struck broadside by the Jones. The Barbour had coaled at Cannel- 
ton and this great wei2;ht was piled on the forecastle of the boat. 
When struck, the water rushed in and the weight caused the boat to 
careen. Mr. George Lyne and Miss Lucie Allison, of Henderson, 
were passengers en route to Louisville. Alney Allison, when the 
shock came, rushed to his sister's room and with her ran to the front 
of the boat and jumped to the lower deck, and swam with his sister to 
the Jones, assisted by Henry Lyne, He returned to the Barbour and 
was drawn by the current through the hatch into the hull of the boat 
and was lost. Capt. Spotts and George Lyne swam through the cold 
water to the nearest shore. When it was discovered that young 
Alney Allison was lost, the distress manifested was truly painful. He 
was a son of William D. Allison and one of the most promising young 
men of his day. His death cast a gloom over the town never equaled 
prior to that time. His remains were recovered and buried in the 
Henderson Cemetery. The heroic gallantry of Henry Lyne was the 
subject of comment for many years after the sad occurrence. 

SUICIDES. 

The year 1852, it seems, was fraught with suicides. Reuben 
Denton hung himself, June 9th. On the seventeenth day of August, 
the Misses Harriet Ann and Martha Carson Mintner, suicided by 
drowning in the Ohio River, near the foot of Fifth Street. This was 
one of the saddest determinations ever known to the town. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 533 

These young ladies were sisters, devotedly attached to each 
other, and lived in a log house, near the present residence of Colonel 
Jackson McClain. The story^ as told at the time, was about as fol- 
lows : One of the girls was desperately in love with a young man of 
the town, and believed that her love was reciprocated. Time passed 
on, and she found, to her sorrow, that the one in whom she had con- 
fided was no more than a volatile deceiver. With a broken heart she 
determined upon the destruction of her life. She persuaded her sis- 
ter to accompany her to the river, ostensibly for amusement, but, in 
fact, to commit suicide. Out from the shore several feet was a stump, 
whose surface protruded above the water some six inches, and near 
the water's edge was a long plank. At the suggestion of the desper- 
ate girl, the plank was extended from the shore to the stump, and the 
two walked out to the stump. While standing there, the crazed girl 
■ suggested to her sister that they tie their hands together and then 
plunge into the water. To this proposition the sister readily assented, 
and in a few moments more the hands of the two were safely bound 
by a handkerchief. After being tied, the awful reality became mani- 
fest, and the silly young girl who had' submitted to the entreaties of a 
crazed sister, begged piteously to be released; but no, the suicide 
leaped, taking her sister with her, and in but a moment more both 
lay at the river's bottom, dead, dead. Parties on the bank witnessed 
this, but never once dreamed of its being a reality until too late. 
Messrs. John C. Stapp and John McBride, who were expert swim- 
mers, hearing of the sad catastrophe, ran to the place, and, by div- 
ing, soon recovered the bodies. 

On the twenty-first day of August, Miss Cynthia Majers suicided 
by hanging herself. 

Dr. A. J. Morrison suicided on June 19th, 1859, while a prisoner 
in the county jail. This was a most distressing instance of the de- 
pravity of man. Dr. Morrison, for a number of years, was highly 
esteemed as a gentleman and practitioner, his practice aggregating, 
perhaps, double that of. any of his compeers. In addition to this, he 
had married into one of the leading and influential families of 'the 
town. In social life, as in professional, he was everywhere welcomed. 
He was more of a leader than otherwise, and his credit and veracity 
stood unimpeached. Now, then, we come to the downfall and sui- 
cide of one who, prior to his unfortunate step, was regarded in every 
way the equal of any citizen of the place. It is a horrible story to be 
told, and I shall be as brief as possible. Eight months or more prior 
to his death, Mr. Barak Brgshear caused the indictment and arrest of 



534 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Dr. Morrison upon the charge of having fraudulently raised a note 
due him by Morrison. The two had had a settlement, leaving a bal- 
ance due Morrison for which Brashear gave his note. This note was 
raised to a higher sum, and, when presented for payment, the fraud 
was quickly and easily detected. Morrison was arrested and gave 
bond. At the meeting of the next Circuit Court, John E. Arnold, of 
Madisonville, then Commonwealths Attorney, came to Henderson and 
put up at the Hancock House. Morrison, in a fit of insanity, as very 
many believed at the time, imagined that if he could make away with 
Arnold his liberty would be assured. To this end, therefore, he con- 
cocted a plan to poison Arnold. He employed, as he thought, a ser- 
vant waiter at the hotel to carry out his hellish work, but, un- 
fortunately for Morrison, the servant formerly belonged to Arnold, 
and was devotedly attached to him. Relying upon this boy, Mor- 
rison gave him a poisonous powder, with directions to drop it 
into Arnold's cup of coffee. The boy consented and Morrison 
watched with keen eyes the hoped for fatal result. Arnold drank 
his coffee, and, having been posted by the servant, feigned sick- 
ness, but was not enough so to satisfy his would-be slayer. On 
the afternoon of the same day he determined to administer a 
double dose and to bring to his service a more deadly poison. 
He procured the ingredients and went to his room in the hotel to pre- 
pare a dose for his victim. During this time the matter was kept a 
profound secret by Arnold, no one knowing anything of it save him- 
self, the negro boy, and Captain William Quinn, who had been em- 
ployed as a detective. 

When Morrison had gone for the medicine, Quinn took an ad- 
joining room, and, cutting a hole through the ceiling, was soon over 
Morrison's roqm ; he then, by means of a sharp instrument, pierced a 
small opening through which he could see into Morrison's room. In 
the meantime, the negro boy had been notified to attend the doctor 
and do as bid by him. This the negro did to perfection. Soon after 
Quinn had secreted himself the doctor entered his room, and upon 
the bottom of a wash bowl mixed his powders, which he gave to the 
negro with instructions how to use them. Quinn not only witnessed 
his movements but heard his conversation. He then returned from 
his hiding place to his room and awaited the coming of the negro. 
Soon he arrived and was arrested — as it was understood— his body 
searched, and the powders found. Upon this, then, there were no 
more secrets, and Morrison's bondsmen surrendered him to the au- 
thorities. He was immediately arrested and placed in the county 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 535 

jail. Finding his plot discovered, and that the evidence was positive 
against him, he seemed to go raving mad. He became violent and 
very offensive in the use of his language. His trial was to have taken 
place on the following Monday, but it did not. On Sunday morning, 
June 19th, 1859, a bright, beautiful morning, when Jailer Brown en- 
tered the room in which he slept the night before, there lay the un- 
fortunate man, apparently lifeless, his face pale and eyes sunken. 
Underneath his cot was a great pool of blood, and, upon examination, 
it was discovered that, by the use of a piece of glass broken from a small 
mirror in the room, he had severed the main artery of his leg and had 
bled beyond recovery. He soon after died. Harrison, the negro 
boy, who had proven faithful to his former master, was handsomely 
rewarded, and thus terminated a tragedy which at the time almost 
paralyzed the town. 

J. Elmus Denton.-^During the official term as Jailer of Mr. Den- 
ton, in December, 1875, the inmates of the jail effected their escape, 
and this so preyed upon his mind that he shot himself. A sketch of 
this suicide will be found in the County History. 

There have been other, in fact, many suicides in this county, but 
none of them, of which I know, were attended by such exciting sur- 
roundings as to entitle them to historical mention. 

MURDER OF LEMUEL CHEANEY BY CHARLES C. CARR. 

1818. 
On the fourteenth day of December, 1818, Charles C. Carr, or 
Stephen Grimes, shot and killed Lemuel Cheane}', while riding through 
the silent, solemn woods, near Colonel Elias Powell's meadow farm. 
It is not known to this day which one of the two did the shooting, al- 
though Carr was hung and Grimes cleared. Of one thing, however, 
there is a certainty, and that is, that no incident in the history of Hen- 
derson County, from the beginning up to that time, had ever created 
such a profound feeling of indignation, and such a determination to 
crack the neck of the murderer, should he be found. This was the 
first murder since that of Mrs. Stegall and family, by Big and Little 
Harpe, in 1799, and, from its surroundings, was equally as horrible. 
Suspicion had pointed to Carr and Grimes, and when, perhaps, they 
were least expecting it, an officer of the law presented himself where 
they were quietly domiciled and made them prisoners. They were 
brought to the county jail and there confined to awaic the action of 
the Grand Jury. At the March term, 1819, of the Circuit Court, the 
following Grand Jurors were empaneled ; Daniel McBride, foreman, 



536 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Jacob Hopkins, Nathaniel Dozerne, John R. Bently, Samuel Burks, 
Laurence Robertson, Rowland Starks, Thomas Jones, Daniel Smith, 
Furney Cannon, Martin Friley, Thomas Hart, Jr., Elijah King, 
John Williams, Mark M. Yeargin, George Higginson, Daniel Lock- 
well, Simon Sugg, Thomas H. Herndon and Alfred Williams. 
These gentlemen, after a thorough examination of the testimony, 
returned to the Court an indictment charging Charles C. Carr, a la- 
borer of the County and Circuit of Union, with feloniously, will- 
fully, and of 'his malice aforethought, shooting Lemuel Cheaney 
from his horse, while riding along a by-path of Henderson County. 

At the June term, following, the case was called, and both par- 
ties announced themselves ready for trial. The following jurors were 
then sworn to try the issue : Jonathan Fellows, Aaron Wilson, John 
Wilson, Samuel W. Hammond, Gabriel Holmes, Robert A. Cobbs. 
Thomas Ladd, William Carter, William Robards, William Miller, 
Christian Smedley and Jonathan Anthony, who, after hearing the evi- 
dence, returned the following verdict : " We, of the jury, find the 
defendant guilty of the murder in the indictment charged against 
him." 

At the same term Carr was brought into court, in custody of the 
jailer, and it being demanded of him whether he had anything to say 
why the Court should not give judgment against him, declined to 
speak a word in his own defense. He was thereupon ordered to be 
again committed to jail until Monday, the twenty-sixth day of July, 
on which day, between the hours of eleven and twelve, he should be 
taken bv the Sheriff of the County to some suitable place on the 
Public Square, in the Town of Henderson, and there hung by his 
neck until he should be pronounced dead.- Why he should have been 
hung on Monday, and on an empty stomach, the records signally fail 
to explain, and yet such was the case. 

From the depositions of James Townsend, Jeremiah Riddle, 
James Holloway and Carr, the murderer, the following facts concern- 
ing the killing have been gleaned : 

Lemuel Cheaney was a trader by profession, from the upper part 
of the State. He had taken a raft of lumber to Cairo, Illinois, and 
was en route on his return over land, when he was seized with chills 
and fever while passing through Union County. He halted at Mor- 
ganfield, where he remained some weeks. During this time Charles 
C. Carr lived near the town of Morganfield, and became, to all in- 
tents and purposes, on intimate terms of association with Cheaney. 
The two were frequently seen together, and on the ^morning of the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 537 

twelfth day of December, 1818, both men went to the house of James 
Townsend, in Morganfield, where an exchange of money took place 
between Cheaney and a man by the nam of Paxon. Townsend 
counted the money, and remenibered two five dollar bills, one on the 
Bank of Utica, the other on the Bank of Niagara, New York ; also, 
a twenty dollar bill on the Bank of Vincennes, Indiana. 

Next morning Cheaney told Townsend that he had a lot of plank 
which Carr wanted to buy, but hadn't the money to make the purchase. 
This conversation, as well as the exchange of money, took place 
while Carr was present. On the same day Carr and Cheaney left, as 
Carr stated, for Henderson. On the way up, and when in sight of 
Colonel Robert Smith's house, near Smith's Mills Postoffice, the two 
met Stephen Grimes, who rode along with them. At this point, 
Cheaney complained of being very sick, and was really shivering with 
a hard chill. Grimes advised him to go on to Colonel Smith's and 
there remain until the ague was off, and then to come on to a certain 
point on the road nearer Henderson, where he would await their com- 
ing and have them come over and spend the night with him. Chea- 
ney and Carr remained at Colonel Smith's one hour and a half, or 
more, when they remounted and proceeded on to the designated 
point where they were to be joined by Grimes. When they arrived at 
this place Grimes was found sitting on a log waiting, as he had prom- 
ised. The three then started on the road to Henderson, and after 
riding awhile they came to a log lying across the road, at which place 
there was a bush cut down. This, Grimes told them, was cut down 
by one of hi*s sons, as a turning out place for a nearer route to his 
home. 

This place was a short distance from Colonel Elias Powell's mea- 
dow farm, and here they turned and proceeded about a half mile, 
when Cheaney was killed. As to who killed him, no one has ever 
positively known, many persons believing that Carr was the murderer, 
while as many believed it to be Grimes. 

Cheaney had a large amount of money on his person, and this 
was taken and divided between the two. It was a well-known fact that 
Carr had no money and was unable to pay his smallest indebtedness, 
yet, after the shooting of Cheaney, he was seen with several hundred 
dollars. This, coupled with other circumstances, created heavy sus- 
picion, and when James Holloway and James Townsend were shown 
some of the money passed by Carr, they recognized the same bills 
they had counted for Cheaney only a short time before. Townsend 



538 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

recognized the two five dollar bills of the Bank of Utica and Niagara, 
New York, and the twenty dollar bill of the Bank of Vincennes. 

This was, then, enough to guarantee an arrest, and in a few 
days both men were arrested and confined in the Henderson County 
jail. 

Old Grimes, as he was called, turned State's evidence, and Carr 
would have done the same thing, but Grimes was too quick for him. 
Carr's deposition is on file in the indictment, and, if one-half of it be 
true, old Grimes was the murderer, and ought to have been hung. 
Carr protested his innocence, and openly charged Grimes with the 
outrage. He did not deny sharing the money after the death of 
Cheaney, but declared that he stubbornly opposed the killing even 
up to the time the fatal gun was fired. Carr had had his trial, had 
been found guilty, and sentenced to be hung on Monday, the twenty- 
sixth day of July, 1819. The few life's moments left him were now 
flittering away as rapidly as the melting snow before the rise of a 
burning sun. He confessed his sins, yet protested his innocence of 
Cheaney's murder. Old Griipes had done the deed for which his 
life was to pay the penalty. James M. Hamilton, Henderson's lead- 
ing blacksmith, had forged the iron anklets which bound his legs to- 
gether. Moses Morgan had builded the wooden casket which was to 
become the home of his mortal frame. Fayette Posey had builded 
the gallows beneath whose beam his lifeless body, in motionless hor- 
ror, was to hang, as a propitiation for the sins of Grimes. He also, 
had prepared the sepulchre, whose funeral pile awaited to inclose 
him forever. The day had arrived, and, with its coming, thousands 
of anxious people. 

In that great crowd stood Old Grimes, to witness the execution 
of a man who was dying, as he protested, while facing death for the 
sins of this old sinner. For the space of an hour before the awful 
moment, Carr sat in his silent prison buried in deep thought ; nor was 
this monologue of the wret . led prisoner very strange or wonderful. 
He had nerved himself to meet disgrace, to meet the scorn and taunts 
of his fellow men, and to meet with serenity, even death itself. The 
clock had struck eleven, and as the last echoes died away, Peter D. 
Green, special bailiff, and his attendants, made their appearance and 
bade him prepare for execution. 

Quickly dashing away the briny evidence of his late weakness, 
and with a mighty effort of will he stilled the beating of his heart, 
and resumed once more his careless manner. Turning to the Sheriff 
he said : 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY 539 

*' I have been waiting, and am ready. Do your duty." 
A few minutes sufficed to remove his fetters, and the Sheriff 
waited a moment that he might -arrange some of his apparel, quietly 
and without a word either of reproach or pity, led him forth from his 
dungeon. Carr followed the footsteps of his conductor with a firm, 
bold tread, evincing neither alarm nor hesitation, until he was lifted 
into the wagon and commanded to take his seat. Then, indeed, he 
started back with a slight exclamation of horror, for the seat men- 
tioned was the dread tenement he was so soon to fill, a dungeon far 
more dark, gloomy and contracted than the one he had just left. Yes, 
it was his own coffin. 

The mournful cortege moved slowly away from the prison door, 
and with funeral tread, for it was the funeral of the living dead. Carr 
sat upon his coffin, guarded by the special bailiff and his assistants, 
and sadly and solemnly did the actors in this bloody, but legal, drama 
move along to the foot of the gallows. The terrifying structure and 
judicial instrument of death was erected on the Public Square, di- 
rectly in front of the two-story brick now occupied by Captain Charles 
G. Perkins as a family residence, and tradition tells that the large 
locust tree now standing in his front yard was one of the posts sunk 
in the ground which supported the beam, or cross bar, underneath 
which Carr hung. Carr sat in the wagon gazing around upon the sea 
of upturned, unsympathizing faces, with apparent unconcern. Yet he 
felt more than his manner indicated. At the command of the bailiff, 
he stood alone in the wagon, and immediately beneath the beam, 
from which a rope dangled, swaying gently to and fro under the mild 
influence of a soft southern breeze. Folding his arms tightly across 
his breast, as if to keep down the tumultuous beating within, and giv- 
ing one look to the broad, bright heavens, and another to the frightful 
rope, he at last fixed his keen gaze intently upon the human mass 
below him, but his eye rolled too rapidly from man to man, and his 
look was too eager and intent, to be the mere result of curiosity or 
listless indifference. His look was that of a man rapidly scanning 
the faces of others in search of some familiar countenance, or of 
some one he had reason to believe was then and there present. For 
several minutes, as his eye turned from face to face, his pale, rigid 
features exhibited no emotion, or, if any, only that of disappoint- 
ment. But, all at once, the object of his search met his gaze. The 
doomed man's face lost its pale indifference, a rush of color passed 
rapidly into his countenance, and that there was some disturbing emo- 
tion those who stood near were well satisfied. 



540 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

In a moment more his eyes were scornfully fixed upon a heart- 
less old wretch who stood prominent in that great assembly of curi- 
ous spectators. The eyes of the multitude followed the eyes of the 
condemned. Voracious curiosity now centered upon the individual 
at whom Carr was so intently gazing, yet he could not be seen. The 
multitude moved in shapeless confusion, wedging in here and there, 
that one glance might be gained of the object of Carr's scornful and 
unremitting ocular penetration. Then it was that he raised his arm 
and pointing his index finger with unerring precision, said, with un- 
mistakable emphasis : 

" Fellow citizens, God knotvs there stands the murderer of Lemuel 
Cheaney , Stephen Grimes V 

A wild shout went up and a rush was made for the dastardly old 
scoundrel who stood in unblushing indifference to witness the hang- 
ing of the one he had basely betrayed. 

Grimes could not stand the accusation, but ran for his life, pur- 
sued by many men, and was not seen again that da3^ As for the 
general mass, the contest going on was, with them, equal to a gladia- 
torial combat, and for the entire time their interest continued undi- 
minished, and their numbers were only increased until the close of 
this judicial tragedy. 

The dread hour of parting was now over with Carr. He busied 
himself making bare his throat for the fatal rope. A slight shudder 
passed over his person as the cord touched his naked neck, but, be- 
yond this, he showed no signs of trepidation. He stood alone upon 
the trap of the wagon ; a moment of breathless silence, followed by 
a quick, heavy blow of the bailiff's axe, and he stood no longer upon 
plank, or earth, or solid rock, but hung a dangling, struggling, horri- 
ble spectacle in the air. A few convulsive movements of the limbs, 
a quick heaving of the breast, a trembling shudder throughout the 
body, and all was over. Carr was dead. His fate was no longer a 
thing of doubt. The rope and death had torn away all darkness, and 
his dreams were dreams no more. His body was cut down and 
sepulchred a few steps away, where it reposed and mouldered from 
Monday, July 26th, 1819, until exhumed by the foundation diggers 
twenty years ago. 

After the death and burial of Carr, public sentiment bore down 
upon Grimes. It was evident that his life was not safe in the neigh- 
borhood in which he lived, but of this feeling he seemingly knew 
nothing, and continued to pursue his daily avocation. Finally, pent 
up, yea, outraged society, could stand it no longer. The belief grew 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 541 

Stronger and stronger, day by day, that the gallows had been de- 
frauded of its legitimate and most guilty subject, and that the least 
guilty, alone had paid the penalt-i'. A company was formed with the 
determination of ridding the county of Old Grimes, and, to this end, 
they cautiously approached his home, where he was found, taken out, 
and most unmercifully thrashed. This terrible scourging, it was 
thought, would terminate his earthly career, and he was thus left. 
But not so. Next morning found him gone, and from that day to this 
has never put foot in Henderson County. 

Thus concludes the story of the first mifrder and public hanging 
in Henderson County. 

SECOND MILITARY EXECUTION -TOM FORREST AND 
FIVE COMRADES SHOT TO DEATH. 

During the early part of November, 1864. six armed highwaymen 
were frequently seen prowling on foot through the country, engaged 
in promiscuous robbery. They were known to have come from 
Indiana, for they had crossed the river at Newburg only a short time 
prior to their discovery. They had the temerity to pay a visit to and 
rob Mr. Curtis, the ferryman, opposite Jh^vansville. They had visited 
a Mrs. Randolph, widow of a Methodist divine, from whom they stole 
^50, a cloak, two fine dresses, her night robes, etc. They halted at 
the residence of Mrs. Edmund Robinson, where they called for 
supper, and during this time, gave to William S. Johnson a brief 
history of their military lives. In this conversation they stated that 
they were members of Captain Ollie Steele's command, had been 
captured and were at that time making their way back to him. Rang- 
ing around on their nefarious career, they committed frequent thefts 
in the neighborhood of Diamond Island Bend, and when not on a 
raid, confined themselves within a dense canebrake. The citizens 
determined to rid the neighborhood of their pestiferous presence, feel- 
ing fully assured that they were not soldiers of either army, but a clan 
organized for petty thievery. To this end, therefore, B. F. Martin, 
William J. Alves, A. J. Anderson, James Lilly, and several other 
citizens armed and equipped, and went out in search for them. 

They were traced to the cane, and upon entering its tangled and 
violently matted territory, the pursuers, when least expecting it, came 
suddenly upon the thieves in camp. Without hesitation or resistance 
the whole] six surrendered and asked to be turned over to the civil 
authorities. Upon taking an invoice, they were found to have in their 



542 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

possession, four fine new revolvers and a double-barrelled shotgun, 
the last having been stolen from William Vickers, and several coats 
and pants which they had pressed — not as tailors — but as a military 
necessity. They were brought by a guard of citizens to the city on 
Thursday evening, November 10th, 1864, and placed in the county 
jail. On Friday afternoon they underwent a preliminary examination 
before Judge C. W. Hutchen. At this examination they denied be- 
longing to any military command, and plead guilty to larceny, but the 
evidence of William S. Johnson, who had heard their story several 
days previous, settled the question to the satisfaction of the court, 
who held them severally in a bond of $5,000 to appear at the ensuing 
term of the Circuit Court. Failing to furnish bail, the six were sent 
to jail. On the date prefixed, General Stephen G. Burbridge, com- 
manding the Military Department of Kentucky, issued the following 

order : 

Headquarters Military Division Kentucky ) 
Lexington. October 25th, 1864.^ 

General Order No. 8. 
The irregular bands of armed men disconnected from the rebel army, who 
prowl through the country and subsist by depredation upon the property of 
citizens and of the government, are guerrillas and will hereafter be treated as 
such. They are without any idea of occupancy or without a reasonable hope 
(.f seriously injuring our communications They form no part of the organized 
army of the rebellion, and if captured arc not entitled to the treatment pre- 
scribed for regular soldiers, but by tlie laws of war, have forfeited their lives. 
Frequent robberies and murders committed by these outlaws, demand that the 
laws of war be stringently meted out to them Hereafter no guerrillas will be 
received as prisoners, and any officer who may capture such and extend to 
them the courtesies due to prisoners of war, wili be held accountable for diso- 
bedience of orders. By command Major General, 

S. G. BURBRIDGE. 

In view of this mandatory order, Col. John Glenn, then in com- 
mand of the Henderson Post, demanded and was given possession of 
the six prisoners. Deeming it his imperative duty to enforce the 
order of Burbridge, he accordingly informed the men on Saturday 
that they had only a short time to live, but that on Sunday afternoon 
they would be taken hence and shot in compliance with orders. They 
were also told that every facility would be afforded them to meet their 
Maker. 

On Saturday night the Revs. J. Woodbridge, of the Presbyterian 
Church, and H. M. Ford, of the Methodist Church, called to con- 
verse with the doomed men. Five of them expressed a preference 
for the ministration of the Methodist divine, and Rev. Ford passed 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 543 

much of Saturday night with them, and was with them nearly the 
whole time until they were ushered before the Almighty. The 
other, Forrest, obtained the servj^ces of a Catholic divine from Evans" 
ville. The above and following facts are taken from the News, of 
November, 1864 : 

" After being put in jail, the three men who had given their names as 
John Williams and D. and W. Riley, admitted to their spiritual advisor that 
their true name was Horton, and that their moLaer, Mrs. Elizabeth Horton, as 
also' two of their wives, were residing in Evansville. Forrest, or Young, a 
Canadian, asserted that he was a Confederate soldier, belonging to Captain 
Steele's command, and had relatives residing in -Iowa. The real name ot 
Jamieson is John Fry, and he has a wife and two children at Evansville. 
Moore is from Nashville, where his mother now resides. 

*' Mr, Curtis, the Evansville ferryman, who had been robbed on the night 
of the seventeenth ult., went with us to the jaii to ascertain if any of the pris- 
oners had belonged to a party of four who had forcibly entered his house 
opposite Evansville, on the night of October 17th. Two of them admitted that 
three Horton brothers were in the party, another, Pritchett, was at large. They 
had robbed Mr. Curtis of near $300 in greenbacks and a large amount of 
family clothing. These four, the Horton brothers and Pritchett, had been 
arrested by the military authorities at Evansville and placed in the guard- 
house, but before their cases were acted upon, they succeeded in cutting out of 
prison and escaping. 

" At three o'clock, Sunday afternoon, a guard of sixty negro infantry 
were drawn up in front of the jail, from whence they escorted the six doomed 
men to the place of execution, which had been selected upon the bank of the 
river, above the city, near the old coal shaft, where a large grave, capable ot 
holding all the rough coffins had been prepared. A large concourse of our 
citizens accompanied the cortege to the fatal ground. Arriving at the selected 
spot, the prisoners were allowed to hold brief converse with some of their 
acquaintances and the ministers of religion. Their arms and persons were 
free from irons or any pinions. After the detailed guard had taken position, 
the prisoners were called from the midst of the troops and placed in line, whfn 
Col. Glenn read Burbridge's ' Order No 8,' above published, and informed the 
trembling victims that the office of an executioner was not a pleasant one, but 
that the order was a mandatory upon him, and that they obviously came under 
its provisions. The Colonel then bandaged their eyes, (their arms and legs 
being left unfettered) and led each one to his coffin where they were seated. 
Their lips were moving in prayer, imploring the Father of Mercies to pity 
them and forgive their manifold sins. The three Horton brothers sat side by 
side, in full vigor of youthtul manhood, soon to become cold and rigid in 
death. The sable executioners were formed in two lines, thirty in each rank, 
and stood facing the victims, fifteen steps. The front line had been severally 
instructed what man to aim at The fatal order was distinctly given : ' Make 
ready ; take aim ; shoot low ; fire ! " and the death-dealing volley went forth. 
Instantly five ot the unfortunate fell over their coffins without a groan or 



544 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

struggle, stone dead ; the sixth, Forrest, fell forward from his shell to the 
green sward, and after a few spasmodic quivers, lay still. Most of them were 
shot in the head, and the large conical balls had scattered their warm brains 
about, while purple streams deluged the coffins. After becoming satisfied that 
the vital spark had fled. Col. Glenn detailed some of the negro troops to put 
the corpses in their coffins and commit them to the grave — the name of each 
being attached to his coffin so as to enable their relatives or friends to identify 
and remove the remains." 

They were buried where they were shot, and some years after- 
wards their remains were removed to the City Cemetery by order of 
the Council. 

SHOOTING OF BEN. O'NEAL AND THOMAS RISLEY. 

The history of the subjects of this sketch furnishes another evi- 
dence of the fool-hardiness of men, and the utter recklessness which 
oftentimes characterizes inveterate violators of the law. It shows, too, 
how innocent men suffer for the misdeeds of others, for in this in" 
stance Risley was guilty of the violation of law prior to the time of the 
shooting, but was endeavoring to cheat the law of a violator whose 
capture had been determined upon. In the year 1845, Ben. O'Neal, 
a native of Union, but a resident of Henderson County, was suspected 
of belonging to a gang of horse speculators, whose main object seems 
to have been to relieve stables at night, and run the animals to Illi- 
nois, where they found a ready market. William Crenshaw had lost a 
fine horse and his brother Joe. was not the least timid in charging the 
theft to O'Neal, who hearing of it determined upon revenge, and that 
of the blackest kind. He carried in his pocket for months, a bowlder 
or rock, symetrically shaped and about the size of a goose egg, with 
which he practiced at a target until he had learned to throw it with 
absolute precision. It is said he could hit his mark at sixty feet with 
almost as great certainty as the rifleman could wfth his unerring gun.- 
On the first day of Januray, 1845 — always a great day in town prior 
to the war — O'Neal came to town, and shortly afterwards saw Joe. 
Crenshaw walking upon the street. A large crowd had congregated 
on Main Street, in front ot where George Lyne's drug store now 
stands to witness the sale and hireing of slaves, and in this crowd 
Crenshaw was standing. O'Neal approached a friend and soon se- 
cured his services in getting Crenshaw to walk out of the crowd, pre- 
tentiously for the purpose of engaging him in conversation, but osten- 
sibly for the purpose of killing him with the rock which he carried in 
his pocket. The friend asked Crenshaw off, and while he was talking, 
O'Neal drew his rock and let drive at his head, luckily, however, just 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 545 

as he threw the stone, Crenshaw turned his head enough to catch the 
hck on his cheek bone, instead of the vital spot at which it was aimed. 
The lick, though not dangerouSy*A'as enough to knock Crenshaw to the 
ground. O'Neal then endeavored to plunge a bowie knife into his 
victim, but Crenshaw had arisen and proved to powerful for him. 
O'Neal then effected his escape and was never more seen in the town 
of Henderson. At the June term of the Circuit Court, O'Neal 
was indicted for maliciously, and with malice aforethought, throw- 
ing a rock and striking Thomas Crenshaw, with the intent to kill. 
A bench warrant was ordered out and placed in the hands of the 
Sheriff, but the would-be murderer could not be found. His home 
was now in the State of Illinois. Several times after this, he came to 
the county and most generally sent word to the Sheriff that he was 
here, and to come and take him. He traveled with a shot-gun, and 
wasl^known to be a man who would use it whenever the occasion 
demanded, therefore, lie was greatly feared. 

On the second day of June, 1846, William D. Nunn, acting Sheriff 
of the county, received a message from him stating that he was in the 
county, and to come out and take him. Sheriff Nunn, contrary to 
O'Neal's expectation, summoned a posse of men to discover his where- 
abouts, and on the evening of June 1st, 1846, left Henderson for the 
residence of Mr. Crenshaw, in the neighborhood of the farm on which 
it was believed O'Neal was staying. He arrived at Crenshaw's in the 
night, and his posse now consisted of Thomas F. Cheaney, William 
Crenshaw, Joe. Crenshaw, David Stone and Marshal] Tillotson. It 
was believed that O'Neal was at one of two places, and for the pur- 
pose of securing his capture, provided this was true, the Sheriff divided 
the squad, sending Cheaney and William Crenshaw to the house of 
Claiborn Collier, whose daughter O'Neal had married, while he with 
the others went to the other house in the neighborhood. Cheaney and 
Crenshaw arrived at the Collier homestead about daylight, and took 
position behind a smoke house standing in front of the house, and 
only a few feet off in the yard. The house was a log building with 
two rooms and a hallway, with doors leading into the hall, and a door 
from each end of the building into the yard. Mr. Cheaney was sta- 
tioned at a corner of the smoke house commanding one window and 
the end door, while William Crenshaw was stationed so as to com- 
mand the hallway. There was no rear window, so escape was impos- 
sible. A short time after the arrival of the guard, Cheaney saw- 
O'Neal through the window, and looked him full in the face. He then 

35 



54G HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

went around to where Crenshaw was standing and told him he had 
seen the gentleman, and that he was dressing himself. Cheaney had 
nothing but a single-barreled pistol, while Crenshaw had a double- 
barreled shot-gun and two pistols. Thinking it best to notify Sheriff 
Nunn of the discovery, Cheaney took one of Crenshaw's pistols and 
fired it into the air. This report Nunn and his party heard, and know- 
ing its meaning hurried forward and were soon on the ground. Nunn, 
at the head of two or three men approached the house and went to 
the door of the room O'Neal was in. He was called to open the door 
and surrender, but refused to answer to his name, or to answer to a 
single question. Cheaney insisted upon breaking the door in and bring- 
ing him out, but from his knowledge of the man Sheriff Nunn declined. 
Finding that O'Neal was surrounded, with no possible means of es- 
cape, the Sheriff concluded to come to Henderson and get instruction 
from Judge Shackelford, who was then holding the regular term of 
the Circuit Court. He had left his horse at William Crenshaw's, and 
while enroute to that place found David Fowlkes hunting in the woods, 
and immediately summoned him to reinforce the guard then at Col- 
lier's. Fowlkes went to the house and took position with Cheaney. 
About that time friends of O'Neal began to come up, and whisperings 
overheard, led the guard to believe that bloody work was contem- 
plated. Finally Thomas Risley, a brother-in-law by marriage of 
O'Neal's, came out of the end door of the house leading into the gar- 
den, and endeavored to aid O'Neal's escape, by keeping his body be- 
tween O'Neal and the guard. The command halt and surrender, was re- 
peatedly given, but to no purpose. O'Neal saw the two Crenshaw's, 
and at a certain signal Risley stepped to one side in order that he 
might fire. He took deliberate aim and pulled trigger, but his gun 
snapped; at this David Fowlkes, who was in the back yard, raised his 
gun to fire upon O'Neal, but one of the Colliers interfered by seiz- 
ing the muzzle of his gun ; no sooner had he done this than Cheaney 
leveled his pistol on Collier and commanded him to let go, which he 
did and skipped the fence. Fowlkes then fired,his whole load of squir- 
rel shot taking effect in O'Neal's hip and thigh. Fowlkes' gun had 
hardly gone off, when the two Crenshaw's fired, and both O'Neal and 
Risley, who was endeavoring to shjeld him, fell to the ground mor- 
tally wounded, and died in a few minutes. At this, O'Neal's friends 
retired from the premises, and the scene which followed was heart- 
rending indeed. It was not the object of any man to shoot Risley, 
and no one knows who did shoot him. He was unfortunately situa- 
ted when O'Neal was fired upon, and caught some of the shot in- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 547 

tended for O'Neal. Mrs. Risley, who was in the house, rushed to her 
dving husband, and wept bitterly. Her screams and lamentations were 
more than the guards could bea'r up under, but they consoled them- 
selves with the consciousness of having done a duty, even though the 
finale was so unfortunate and distressing. Mounting their horses, the 
o-uard returned to the town about noon of the same day, when it was 
found out that some of O'Neal's friends had arrived with^ the news, 
and the Coroner was about ready to proceed with a jury to the fatal 
spot. They were given time to take their dinner, and then directed 
to return with the Coroner, which they did tjie same afternoon. After 
hearing the evidence, the guards were exhonorated from any blame, 
and there the matter rested until brought before the Grand Jury. The 
Sheriff and his posse reported to Judge Shackelford, who publicly 
endorsed their actions. No indictments were found, and there the 
matter rested from that day to this. 

MURDER OF JAMES E. RANKIN. 

Of all the horrors of the war, there was no one occurence more 
terrible, more frightful, or more atrocious than the history of the one 
to follow : On the eleventh day of July, 1864, a beautiful Monday 
afternoon, while the sun was shining in all its glory, and a rainfall, as 
gentle and brilliant as the sparkling dewdrops, was gladdening the 
parched earth, a company of desperate outlaws, as if with wings, flew 
into the city and soon claimed control of every principal street. The 
o-rand entree was made in First Street, and in the twinkling of an eye 
the instrument of the Henderson & Evansvilie Telegraph Company, 
located in the second story of the old South Kentuckian' building, 
then standing on the corner of Main and First Streets, was com- 
pletely battered to pieces. After this had been done, a system of 
thievery was indulged, and never before or since that time has such a 
reign of terror been witnessed in the city. Desperadoes, most fiendish 
and horridly uniformed, to add to their natural repulsive appearance, 
galloped over the streets with pistols in hand and commanded men as 
they chose, at the mouth of five-shooters cocked and of easy trigger. 
These devils came unauthorized, for they belonged to neither army. 
They were robbers and murderers and cared not whose house they 
entered or whose carcass they punctured with leaden messengers of 
death. Near on to twilight, four or five of them, headed, as it was 
said at the time, by one Edmunds, of Hopkins County, who had for 
years prior to the war, been engaged in hauling tobacco from that 
county to this city, entered the storehouse of Mr. James E. Rankin, 



548 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

on the corner of Main and Second Streets, and immediately com- 
menced robbing the shelves of silks, ribbons, velvets and many other 
valuable goods. Not satisfied with this, they took from his cash 
drawer what small change there was in it. The iron safe was in the 
office at the rear end of the second story, and this was securely locked 
and could only be opened by the use of a combination key. This 
key, as was the custom of Mr. Rankin after locking his safe for the night 
had been taken to pieces and the parts placed in a box kept in the 
cash drawer down stairs in the storeroom. In robbing the drawer, the 
rings of the key were also taken by the robbers. About this time, a 
villain, who claimed to exercise command, came into the store and 
peremptorily ordered the men out, and without a murmur, they left 
the house, mounted their horses and rode away. 

Mr. Rankin, thinking perhaps they might return, and not wishing 
to hold any further communication with them, went to a room in the 
rear end of the third story. Hardly had he succeeded in shutting the 
door before the same scoundrel, who had a few minutes before or- 
dered the men out of the storeroom, returned with three or four men 
— Edmunds one of the number — and called for Mr Rankin. Mr. 
John Allin, who was clerking for him at the time, protested his ignor- 
ance of his whereabouts, but this was of no avail. One of the gang 
said, " I know where he is ; follow me." He then started to the sec- 
ond story and from that he ascended the third flight of steps, and 
soon found his way to the door of the room in which Mr. Rankin was 
sitting. Finding him, he was ordered forthwith to proceed below. 
This he did, of course, and when arriving at his office was ordered to 
unlock the safe.. This he declared impossible unless he could regain 
the key which he had left in his cash drawer below, but which had 
been taken away by the first squad who had robbed his house. He 
then proposed to go down to the drawer and see if the key could be 
found, and as he started and had descended not more than three steps, 
one of the men without a word of warning fired, the ball striking him 
in the back of the neck and ranging down in the region of the throat. 
Not satisfied with this, he followed him and several times hit him over 
the head and shoulders with the butt of his pistol. Mr. Rankin ran 
as fast as he could out of the front of his house and into an adjoining 
store of HoUoway & Hopkins, still pursued by this man and his com- 
rade. He halted at the showcase and was leaning with his arm upon 
it, when the two murderers entered with pistols cocked and pointed 
at him. At this juncture, William H. Lewis, who was clerking for 
Holloway & Hopkins and was the only person in charge, rushed be- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 549 

tween the men and Mr. Rankin, and knocking the pistol aside, begged 
them for God's sake, if they were Confederate soldiers and valiant 
men, not to shoot a man who was then dying from the effects of the 
first shot. At this,, both pistoU'were lowered and the two men walked 
out. A physician was summoned, and in as short time as possible 
Mr. Rankin was removed to the storehouse of B. B. Williams, where 
he remained until the murderers left town, when he was taken to his 
own residence on Upper Main Street. 

In the safe was a large amount of money belonging to Hugh 
Tate, and of this the guerrillas knew, for they mentioned the fact. 
They secured Mr. Rankin's watch and what money there was in the 
cash drawer, but failed to get into the safe.' After the shooting, the 
robbers plied their avocation with a reckless indifference, loading 
their horses with beaver cloths, silks, velvets, ribbons, boots, shoes, 
blankets, and any other articles attracting their attention. While this 
squad was robbing Mr. Rankin, others were taking horses and other 
items of value, and having abundantly supplied themselves, all left 
the town. 

A short time after their departure, a United States gunboat 
patrolled the river front and threw several shells in the direction 
taken by the guerrillas, but without doing any damage. 

No man then felt safe, for if as pure, noble and good man as 
James E Rankin was shot down in cold blood, others felt that they 
were in greater danger. Excitement became intense, and nothing but 
the want of a few guns (which could not be had) saved the lives of 
that squad of inhuman outlaws. To add additional lustre to the 
memory of Hon. R. T. Glass, be it said that he, of all the men stand- 
ing around on the streets, was the only one to openly denounce the 
outlaws. This he did to two of them in person and unhesitatingly 
announced his willingness to lead or assist in shooting the last one of 
them from their horses before escape could be possible. 

A SAD RETRIBUTION. 

From the News, A^ovemberl^, 1864 :— " On Wednesday night, the 
twentieth inst.. Lieutenant Headington, in command of one hundred and 
fifty troops, (134th Indiana Infantry, one hundred-day men), landed 
in our city, from Louisville, and immediately threw out pickets around 
the town, who permitted no one to leave the place without a pass. 

"jThese troops brought with them, four Confederate soldiers, two 
of whom had ventured on their steamer (the Palestine) at Rock 
Haven and were secured ; the other two, Thompson and Powell, by 



560 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

name, had been captured. On the twelfth da}^ of July, 1864, five 
miles from Owensboro on what was known as the plank road, their 
company being in Daviess County recruiting, and had that morning 
fnet some regular soldiers, ( Federal ) and some one hundred home 
guards on Ruff Creek, killing eleven and routing the balance. They 
were returning when Thompson and Powell were cut off from the 
main body and captured. Thompson and Powell belonged to the com- 
mand of Captain Dick Yates, a commissioned Confederate ofificer, who 
was recently killed in a skirmish near that town. Lieut. Headington 
had received orders to publicly execute these last two prisoners in 
our citv in retaliation for the atrocious attempt of a gang of guerrilla 
scoundrels and marauders (but a short time since) to murder in cold 
blood, Mr. Jas. E. Rankin, one of our most estimable citizens, and for 
other outrages perpetrated of late in Henderson and vicinity. These 
two men were selected by Gen. Burbridge to be shot at twelve o'clock 
on last Thursday, but through the urgent solicitations of many of our 
prominent Union citizens, the execution was delayed until three 
o'clock, in order to give time to send to Evansville for a Catholic 
priest, who could administer religious consolation, both of the doomed 
ones being Catholics. Mr. John Pernet, of our city, went for and re- 
turned with the priest. Hon. Archibald Dixon and Mayor Banks also 
hastened to Evansville and telegraphed to Gen. Ewing, at Louis\ille, 
representing that the act of shooting these two men threatened to 
ultimate in the destruction of the City of Henderson by bands of 
guerrillas who now swarm in our vicinity, and urging a request from 
the leading Union citizens of the towm, not to enforce said execution, 
as it was furthermore averred by some that the tw^o condemned men 
were regular sworn Confederate soldiers. Whereupon Gen. Ewing 
promptly telegraphed to Evansville, ordering a suspension of the 
execution until he could hear from General Burbridge. A military 
courier was instantly dispatched from Evansville to our city with these 
instructions. This was a cheering respite for the doomed young men, 
who had made every preparation to meet their bitter fate. They had 
called in an artist and had their portraits taken to send to their rela- 
tives. One of them (John P. Powell, aged 23), bore up like a man 
of nerve, but the younger (Wm. Thompson, aged 18), shed many 
tears over the near approach of death, both persistently contending 
that they were no robbers or marauders, but regularly sworn Confed- 
erate soldiers. 

" Lieutenant Headington had further written instructions to as- 
certain the several amounts robbed from our merchants and others in 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 551 

the recent guerrilla or robber raids into Henderson, and to assess the 
full amount pro rata from reputed secession sympathizers among us. 
In conformity to these orders, he held an interview with Mr. C. M. 
Fennel, the U S. Deputy Assessor of our city, and asked his assist- 
ance. Mr. P. truthfully informed Lieut. H. that the citizens of all politi- 
cal parties in Henderson were living in friendly, social intercourse and 
harmony, and had no disposition to harass or defraud one another — that 
all, irrespective of their political convictions, condemned the villainies 
recentlv committed by outlaws, without authority from either belliger- 
ent force, and that he ( P. ) being merely a civil officer, would prefer 
not to assess his neighbors who happened to entertain different poli- 
tics from himself, as to the best course to be pursued in our national 
calamities. In short, that he would not point out men to be assessed 
for the committal of robberies which they could not avoid, and did 
not countenance. Lieut. H. said his orders were imperative, yet, 
from what he saw and heard, the people of Henderson had been most 
grievously maligned by ignorant, designing, or unscrupulous individ- 
uals, wherein it had gone forth that they had aided and abetted the 
inroads and plunderings of the various marauding bands, who have 
infested this vicinity. But he was an officer of the army, and had no 
discretionary power in the case — his orders were explicit and must be 
obeyed. Another Union man was then called m consultation, and it 
was agreed to select three fair representative Southern Rights men, 
who should themselves make the assessment on certain citizens, 
whom they should designate, after computing the amount necessary 
to cover all the losses incurred by our merchants. On inquiry it was 
found that $2,700 included all losses, and the assessment was made 
out, and the parties called upon very promptly gave their checks for 
the money. These checks were then paid over to those who had been 
robbed, who, to their honor be it said, universally to a man refunded 
the sums to their neighbors and friends, whom they knew to be inno- 
cent of any complicity with the robbers. The deceased Mr. Rankin, 
in this way promptly returned (through one of his sons) $1,000, which 
ha'^ been assessed in his favor. 

" In connection with the name of an amiable gentleman and true 
Christian, and in order to preclude any suspicion that that lamented 
citizen had a hand in, or desired, '' retaliation " on innocent men, we 
herewith append a note written by his son and signed by himself, 
which he forwarded to the commander of the Federal force in our city • 



552 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY, 

^' Lieut. Tleadington, Commanding U. S. Forces, Henderson, Ky.: 

'•Dp:ar Sir : — I have just heard that two guerrillas were to be shot here 
to-day (Friday), in retaliation for outrages committed by guerrilla bands in 
this place. It has pained me greatly to learn this fact, and I would earnestly 
plead witli you to spare the lives of these men. If what the guerrillas have 
done to nic has had any influence in causing this order to be made. I pray 
vou, if possible, to abandon your intention and permit them to live 

J, E. RANKIN. 
" Henderson, Ky., July 21st, 1S64. 

" But now to take up the thread of events. 

" Shortly of three o'clock the pickets stationed at the lower end of 
the city were heard to fire their pieces, and soon they came hurrying 
to headquarters (the Court House), with intelligence that a force 
of guerrillas were advancing upon the city. Orders were hurriedly 
issued for every soldier to get into the Court House, and all the 
stragglers and pickets collected in the building. After a brief sus- 
pense a flag of truce advanced from the rebels, and the bearer de- 
livered a note, which demanded a surrender of our troops to a 
Confederate force under Col. Sypert. Lieut. Headington declined 
the demand. The flag of truce again returned ; the terms proposed 
were ag^in rejected, and a fight seemed imminent. In a short time, 
however, the rebel leader, Col. Sypert, himself advanced with the flag 
and had a personal interview with Lieut. H., to whom he exhibited 
his commission, and said that he wished to avoid the useless shedding 
of blood, that he had a force sufficient to capture our men, and 
demanded a quiet surrender — which, of course, was firmly refused. 
Col. S. then stated that two Confederate soldiers were now held here 
to be shot in retaliation for crimes committed by an unauthorized 
party of rascals ; that he now held some half-dozen Federal prisoners, 
and if the proposed execution came off, he would bitterly retaliate by 
shooting all six of his prisoners, but he hoped for the cause of 
humanity, that this course would not be persisted in by the Federal 
officers. In response, Lieut. H. said that he was a soldier, bound to 
obey the orders of his superiors, and could not of his own will alter 
the decrees of those above him, but for the present, the execution had 
been delayed. Col. S. then requested that the citizens be notified to 
leave the city, agreeing to suspend his contemplated attack one hour 
for that purpose. 

" The conference between the two commanders was characterized 
by a tone of gentlemanly deportment, the parties acting with de- 
corum and dignity, and socially taking a " wee drap " together from 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 553 

the proffered flask of Lieutenant Headington. At the same time 
they were firm and inveterate opponents. 

" In the meantime, much excitement prevailed. Squads of men, 
women and children were strii?"ing for the country. Every place of 
business had been closed on the first intimation of the proximity of 
the rebels, and our heretofore lively city presented an aspect of the 
Sabbath. Many stores had been packing up their goods for removal 
to Evansville and Louisville for several days, and numerous private 
families had also made their exodus and removed their household 
effects. 

" All this was consequent upon the recent irruptions made upon 
us by guerillas, and which were about culminating in a public mili- 
tary execution in our city, which would, it was feared, endanger the 
lives and property of Union citizens. 

" Time passed on, and the threatened attack was not made. A 
courier had been early dispatched to Evansville for reinforcements, or 
for the presence of a gunboat. Two of the latter arrived late in the 
evening, one of which threw several shells at a point at the back of 
the city, where it was surmised the rebel force was located, said to be 
near Alves' Springs. At one o'clock that night the little steamer Lou 
Eaves arrived from Evansville with two hundred of the invalid corps, 
who patrolled our streets and arrested our night police, but subse- 
quently released them, on finding who they were. These men, find- 
ing there was no fight on hand, returned to Evansville before morn- 
ing. 

" On Friday it was ascertained that a force of about three hun- 
dred rebels were encamped near the city. Our pickets were again 
put out and passes required to go through the lines. In the morning 
of this day three civilians were arrested and confined. Having 
brought no military stores with him. Lieutenant H. was compelled to 
quarter his troops on our citizens, who fed all assigned them. 

" On Friday afternoon, about five o'clock, eight mounted scouts 
were sent out to scour the suburbs of the city, to ascertain if any 
force of rebels hovered near. Frequent communication was held be- 
tween the land force and gunboat. A force of the Home Guard from 
Indiana, opposite our city, were called over, and evidently there was 
some secret movement contemplated. About dusk, when most of 
our citizens had retired to their homes, the body of troops, fully ac- 
coutred, with knapsacks on shoulders, and fixed bayonets, issued from 
the Court House, having five prisoners in charge, viz.: Powell and 
Thompson, the two Confederates captured at Rock Huven, and Pear- 



554 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTV, KY. 

man, a citizen of our town (who had talked foolishh' when on a drunken 
spree). They proceeded down First Street and halted within one 
hundred yards of our office. A small sqliad then escorted the prison- 
ers to the river bank, and awaited till a skiff put off from the g^un- 
boat and communicated with them. While here on the beach, Powell 
asked the officer in command of his guard, if it was the design to 
shoot Thompson and himself that evening, (The prisoners having 
been told before they left the Court House that an attack was ex- 
pected from the rebels, and that all the prisoners were to be placed 
under cover of the gunboat.) The officer said he did not know, but 
that some new orders had been received that evening, the nature of 
which he was ignorant. "If we are to be shot," said Powell, "we 
would like to see our Catholic friend. Miss Mary Henderson, and re- 
ceive a cross from her." The officer answered that of course such a 
request would be acceded to. 

"In a short time an officer conveyed some word from the main 
force on the bank, when the sergeant in charge of the prisoners im- 
mediately formed six of his men into a hollow square, and Powell and 
Thompson, their hands still bound, were again marched up the 
bank to where the balance of the force stood. It was now obvious 
that a speedy death awaited the two young prisoners. 

"Two platoons of detailed men stood apart in the street, with 
fixed bayonets and loaded muskets, facing a fence which skirted the 
pavement, not over fifteen paces distant. Two chairs about a yard 
apart stood against the fence, and the prisoners being conducted to 
these seats, their arms were securely pinioned to the boards of the 
fence. Powell still was firm and undismayed, but Thompson bewailed 
his hard fate. Their eyes were bandaged with handkerchiefs. The 
word was given for one platoon to fire on Powell — twelve men dis- 
charged a rattling volley full upon him, ten balls striking — one in the 
right eye, one near the heart, three nearly together in the right shoul- 
der, another in his right breast, and four balls entered his pelvis. 
Groans of anguish echoed to the report of the muskets. The other 
squad were then ordered to aim for Thompson, and again the deadly 
bullets went whistling on their work of slaughter. Four balls riddled 
Thompson — one striking at the right eye, the rest entering his body. 
There hung, suspended to the fence by ropes, the lifeless bodies of 
two young men who, but a few moments previous, were in the full 
vigor of manhood and health. It was a horrible spectacle to those 
who stood near, and we are credibly informed that Lieutenant Head- 
ington averred that it was the most unpleasant duty he ever had to 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY 555 

perform. Our citizens universally, so far as we have been able to 
learn, strenuously opposed this execution in our midst of men who 
had not participated in any outrage in our city. 

"After the shooting the mii^tary passed the mutilated corpses over 
to our citizens, three of whom were Samuel W. Posey, Joe. B. Johnston 
and James B. Evans, and who conveyed them to a building where 
they were stripped, washed and attired in clean clothing, and placed 
in neat coffins. Word was then dispatched to their relatives in Da- 
viess County that the bodies were at their disposal. 

"Federal soldiers remained in our city un til daylight, when they 
went up to Evansville, on the General Halleck, showing conclusively 
that they had performed their mission. 

"We cannot forbear noticing the kindness bestowed upon these 
unfortunates, previous to their death, by an estimable Catholic lady. 
Miss Mary Henderson, and that the last wish the deceased expressed 
was to be permitted to receive a cross from her hands. 

"Retaliation on innocent parties looks like barbarity— like vindic- 
tive«cruelty. There is nothing Christian about it, and, as for policy, 
in Our opinion, it is the policy of madmen. Where is it to end ? If 
the villains engaged in the shooting of Mr. Rankin could have been 
caught and shot, or hung, there is no man in our city, but who would 
have rejoiced. Nay, we are told that the rebel Colonel Sypert had 
expressed his intention to shoot all such unauthorized scoundrels. 
But these young men, whose warm blood has dyed our streets, had no 
hand or part in\ny deeds of the kind. They were rebels against our 
Government, taken with arms in their hands ; but they were regular 
sworn soldiers, and condemned the acts of Edmonds and his gang, 
who had made the murderous onslaught on Mr. Rankin. Let it be 
remembered, that our citizens are almost totally unarmed —a squad of 
armed desperadoes dash into the city, take us by surprise, and we 
have no idea of their numbers— then they commit excesses which are 
repugnant to all eyes, and again hurry ofi, and for these acts, the suf- 
ferino- citizens are to be plucked, because they could not help them- 
selves. Most wonderful justice ! 

"On Saturday morning, after the departure of the Federals, some 
of our prudent and influential citizens, fearing an inroad from Sypert's 
command, went out to his camp, to disavow an endorsement of the 
execution. Early in the evening they returned, bearing the following 
document, which was soon put in type and distributed to an excited 
public : 



556 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

'Headquarters Sypert's and Sokry's ) 

•Confederate Regiment, July 23d, 1864, ) 

To ihe Cifizenf< of Henderson : 

'On yesterday two Confederate soldiers were shot to death in the streets ot 
vourtity. They died unjustly. They condemned— their entire command con- 
demned — as earnestly as any citizen of Kentucky, the wounding of Mr. James 
E. Rankin, and the plundering of property in your city. But they are gone — 
and their murder is another crnne added to the damnable catalogue of infamy 
of the despotism that rules you. We are Confederate soldiers. We fight for 
the liberties our sn^es bequeathed us. We have not made, nor will we make 
war on citizens and women. Let not your people be excited by any further 
apprehensions that we will disturb the peace ot your community by the arrest 
of Union men — or any interference with them, unless they place themselves in 
the attitude ot combatants. Such conduct would be cowardly, and we scorn 
it. We are in arms to meet and battle with soldiers — not to tyrannize over 
citizens and frighten women and children, 

' We move with our lives in our hands, and we are fighting not for booty, 
but for liberty to disenthrall our loved Southern land from the horrible despot- 
ism under which it has bled and suffered so much. We know our duty, and we 
will do it as soldiers and men. Even if what are denominated Southern sym- 
pathisers, be arrested by the tyrants that lord it over you, we would scorn to 
retaliate by arresting Union men, who had no complicity in the matter; but 
our retaliation will be upon soldiers. 

' Let not the non-combatants of your community be further excited by 
any fear that we will disturb them. All Union men who may have left home 
on our account, may safely return. In war, soldiers should do the fighting. 

' The brave sons of our beloved land so far have triumphantly resisted 
the cruel crusade of Northern vandals, and we trust in God that she — our 
''Dixie'' — may soon stand forth before the world, a recognized Republic — the 
grave of patriots and the home of freemen, 

'L. A. SYPERT, 

'Colonel Commanding, C. S. A. 
'R. B. L. SOERY, 

'Lieutenant Colonel. 
'J. WALKER TAYLOR, 
'Of Major General Buckner's Command, C. S, A.' 

"The sad finale of our lengthy article is to chronicle the death of 
Mr. Rankin, who died on Sunday morning last. 

"On Friday, his family deemed it advisable to remove him and 
themselves over the river into Indiana — his physicians and friends 
flattering themselves that he was recovering from his dangerous wound. 
On Sunday morning last, at six o'clock, he requested his wife to pre- 
pare him some ham, and while he was partaking of this, she asked him 
if it " tasted natural." He replied "yes, it does," and then swallowed 
some ice water, which instantly brought on a violent strain of cough- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 557 

ino-. This cough caused the re-opening or bursting of the wounded 
blood vessels in his throat, and a rapid stream of blood gushed forth 
from his mouth and nostrils, stoning his person and the bedding with 
the purple dye of life. Strangulation laid him cold and rigid in death, 
and the spirit of this zealous christian, kind husband, indulgent father, 
and worthy citizen took its flight to another and a better world, 
"where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." 
Funeral services were held over his remains on yesterday (Monday) 
evening, at the Presbyterian Church, of which denomination he had 
long been a ruling elder. Rev J. Woodbridge preached his funeral 
sermon to a large congregation, who felt they had lost one of the best 
of citizens. Indeed, universal sorrow pervaded our city, and his be- 
reaved family had the sympathy of all. 

" Mr. Rankin was fifty-four years of age at his death, and now 
leaves an afflicted widow and eight children to mourn his loss. But 
we hope our loss is his gain. He was a Kentuckian, born in Hender- 
son County, where he has passed nearly his whole life. When a youth 
he acted as salesman in Mr. Pollock's store, afterwards going into bus- 
iness with a partner (John H. Barret), and since 1831, has carried 
on a dry goods business, enjoying an abundant patronage. He was 
often elected as Trustee for the town, but never aspired to any politi- 
cal station, preferring the quiet sphere of a merchant, and the de 
lights of his domestic fireside." 

The following beautiful poem is taken from the " Freeman' s Jour - 

nair 

"MY BROTHER'S NO MORE." 

[Written by a young lady of Owensboro, Kentucky, on the death of her 
brother, \^ illiam C Thompson, who was executed in Henderson, July 22d, 

1864. J 

Despair in his wild eye a son of Kentucky, 

Appeared on the banks of the bleak sandy shore ; 
Loose in the ^vind flowed his dark ringlets streaming, 

And heedless he listened to the dread surges roar ; 
Loud rang his voice in wild tones of despairing. 
The time pass'd away with the present comparing. 
And in soul-thrilling strains deeper sorrow declaring. 

He expressed utter grief and my brother's no more ! 

Oh, Kentucky, my country, one son has departed. 

For tyrants and traitors have stabbed his heart's core ; 

Thy daughters have laved in the streams of afihction— 
Thy patriots have fled, or lie stretched in their gore: 



558 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Ruthless ruffians now prowl thio' thy hamlets forsaken. 
From pale, hungry orj)hans their last morsel have taken; 
The screams of thy females no pity awaken - 
AlasI my poor country, my brother's no more! 

Brave was his spirit yet mild as an angel's. 

His heart wept in anguish the wrongs of the poor ; 
To relieve their hard sufferings he braved every danger — 

The vengeance of tyrants undauntedly bore ; 
E'en before him the proud titled villains in power, 
Were seen, th»jugh in Ermine, in terror to cower ; 
But alaslhe is gone, he has fallen — a young flower — 

They have murdered my Willi*", my brother's no more! 

THE ASSINATION OF DR. WALTER A. NORWOOD, 

A distinguished physician in his time, and a gentleman of extended 
information upon all matters of importance, met a most horrible death 
in this county upon the evening of the first of April, 1861. He had 
immigrated to Henderson from North Carolina, his native State, some 
years prior to that time, and was not long in winning the confidence 
and esteem of the people of his new home. He was universally pop- 
ular and greatly respected for his learning and eminent skill in his 
profession. He, soon after coming to Henderson, entered into partner- 
ship with Dr. Robert P. Letcher, and up to the time of his removal 
from the city to the county, this was perhaps the strongest firm, and 

did the largest practice then done in the city. On the day of 

18 , he married Miss , of the county, and 

soon, or immediately thereafter, took up his abode in one of the finest 
sections of the county, lying between Henderson and Corydon, and 
there established himself in the practice of his profession, at the same 
time devoting a great portion of his time to agricultural pursuits. A 
few days prior to April, 1861, a worthless and nmcli dreaded negro, 
Jim Brown, by name, was seen several times loafing in the woods in 
the vicinity of Dr. Norwood's place, ostensibly, it was said, for the pur- 
pose of assassinating Mr. Furna Cannon, an aged and respected citi- 
zen, who owned his (Brown's) wife, and who had refused him the 
privilege of coming on his place. This treatment enraged the fiendish 
negro, and at a point alongside of the road, near what is known as 
Cherry Hill Church, or Canoe Creek meeting house, on the road lead- 
ing to Corydon, and near tne old Diamond Island Road, leading into 

the Corydon road, built him a cave or ambush, where he secreted 
himself at times for the purpose of killing Mr. Cannon as he passed 
by. Brown hid around in the neighborhood, sleeping and secreting 
himself a great part of the time in haylofts of the farmers. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 559 

On the day of the killing, April 1st, 1861, he had gone into the 
hayloft of Dr. Norwood, unbeknowing to any member of the family, 
and there hid himself away befi^ath the hay. Late in the afternoon 
Dr. Norwood came in with his horse, and went up a rude ladder into 
the loft for the purpose of getting hay for his horse, and while thus 
engaged discovered Brown, and immediately ordered him to vacate 
the premises. This the bloody fiend refused to do. The doctor then 
turned and descended the ladder to the door of his stable, and called 
to his wife, who was in the house near by, to bring him his gun. Mrs. 
Norwood secured the weapon and started, but Brown, realizing the 
closeness of the. situation, came immediately down the ladder, and see- 
ing the doctor standing in front of him, drew his single-barrel rifle pis- 
tol and fired, killing his victim dead where he stood. Mrs. Norwood 
witnessed the killing, and with shrieking anguish rushed to the body of 
her dying husband. Brown fled to the woods and was soon out of 
sight. 

No incident in the history of Henderson Count}^, criminal or 
otherwise, had ever created such profound sympathy or riorhteous in- 
dignation. The neighbors congregated, the whole town was unnerved 
and ready at a moment's warning to shoulder arms and scour the 
countv for the assassinator of the unfortunate man. The feelins: sfrew 
more and more intense as additional intelligence of the shooting was 
received. Men went on horseback and in buggies to learn the facts, 
and contribute, if possible, in any way to the comfort of the bereaved 
family, and to the capture of the outlaw. 

Captain Bill Quinn, who then lived in Henderson, was the owner 
of one or two noted blood hounds, and he, in company with a half- 
dozen or more gentlemen, volunteered their services to search the 
woods and fields, and out-buildings of the whole county if need be, for 
Brown. Mounted upon magnificent horses, and as regulators, they 
took their reckoning from the spot where the doctor was killed, and 
were soon following on the heels of Brown with the blood hounds in 
the lead. 

From some cause, perhaps delay, the keen-scented hounds failed 
to take the track, and it was not long before the pursuers recognized 
that they would have to rely upon their own shrewdness in effecting 
the capture. Several times during the chase slight information was 
gained of Brown's whereabouts, but in every instance after strict 
search he was found missing. He knew he was pursued and 3'et fool- 
ishly failed to flee the country, but continued to hang around, sleep- 
ing at night in barns, under fodder stacks, and other places. After 



560 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

following close upon his trail and locating him near the Madisonville 
Road at Mr. Milan Hancock's, the mounted troopers approached that 
place cautiously early on the morning of the tenth day of April. They 
had been scouring the country for nine days and nights, with but little 
rest, and although fatigued and worn, they yet hurried on more deter- 
mined than ever upon the murderer's capture. At this place ;• negro 
woman gave them the first reliable evidence they had ever been able 
to obtain concerning his true whereabouts. She told them that Brown 
had been seen to enter Mr. Hancock's hayloft the night before, and 
that she had fed him. By this time the fame of Brown had extended 
over the county, and by the negroes particularly, he^was regarded in 
holy horror. They professed to dread him, and for this reason re- 
fused to give information. After getting this, the first reliable informa- 
tion, the troopers were satisfied that the end was near at hand for they 
expected to capture him in Mr. Hancock's hayloft. Before approach- 
ing the stable, however, the woman told some of the men that they had 
best go quickly to William J. Marshall's, in sight and not over a half- 
mile beyond, for she supposed that he had left Hancock's and gone 
there some time in the night. Acting upon this suggestion, John 
Quinn, Bunk Hurt, John H. Marshall and others, went forthwith to 
Marshall's while a sufficient number remained to investigate Han- 
cock's premises. 

Both farms were surrounded, and much to the chagrin of the 
party at Hancock's it was found that the murderer had fled, leaving 
behind him signs of having slept in the hay the night before. The 
party then started to rejoin the others at Marshall's, when the sharp 
keen crack of a rifle was heard coming from the second story of the 
barn, and a rush by the outer guards into the building was plainly 
noticed. They then hurried on as rapidly as their horses could carry 
them, and arriving at the spot were saluted with the joyful intelli- 
gence that Brown was there, but a lifeless corpse. 

When Quinn, Hart and Marshall entered the barn, they instituted 
search by driving long pronged pitchforks through the hay, one ot 
which pricked the murderers leg, whereupon he threw the hay from 
off his head, and, without warning, snapped his pistol at Quinn, and 
then at the others. Fortunately for Quinn the weapon was a self- 
cocker, with its hammer underneath the barrel, and this was caught by 
the straw so as to prevent an explosion. He was repeatedly called to 
surrender under the penalty of death, but replied, '-shoot and be 
d — d." John H. Marshall, as brave a man as ever pulled trigger, lev- 
eled his rifle, and taking aim, fired, the ball striking him in the right 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 561 

temple, causing instant death. The news of the shooting soon reached 
the town, and before noon hundreds of people visited the scene. A 
jury was empaneled by Esq. Fraficis E. Walker, and an inquest held, 
resulting in exonerating Marshall and posse of any blame whatever. 
Brown's remains were turned over to the Surgeon of the town, and the 
carcass was scientifically carved, furnishing an abundance of informa- 
tion for young students of anatomy and surgery. Brown belonged to 
Mrs. Saraphine Pentecost, of this county, and was a most desperate 
and blood thirsty villain. 

THE MILITIA AND THE QUIZZICALS. 

In early times, the fourth day of July, twenty-second day of Feb- 
ruary and Christmas were more days for joy and pleasure than they 
are in these days of wondrous inventions and universal selfishness. 
There were no squibs, sky rockets and Roman candles, &c., but there 
were dried bladders in abundance that answered the purpose of noise- 
making. These days, however, were no greater than what were known 
as " Muster " days, when the populace turned out to witness the 
militia drill. Muster days were acknowledged holidays — time ap- 
pointed by local pugilists to settle the title to the " best man," the 
time for the devotee of John Barleycorn to test his capacity for drink- 
ing all the liquor in town. 

Boys, negroes and men on foot, on horseback, in cart and wagon, 
crowded from every direction and hurried on with anxious speed to 
the scene where mimic battles were to be fought. Old shotguns, 
rusty rifles, long untried fowling pieces, cornstalks and hickory sticks 
were in great demand. Cider wagons, ginger cakes, apples, whisky, 
and all the other et cetera of the camp was rushed pell mell into the 
place of rendezvous. Henderson had her muster days attended with 
horse racing, cock fighting, rifle shooting, wrestling matches, boxing 
set tos and such like. Each of these pastimes had their votaries in 
large numbers. Babel, in the palmiest day, was a "tempest in a tea- 
pot " compared with a militia muster. The carnival at Rome or the 
ancient Satur?ialia of the Romans in the heiorht of their reveline: would 
be tame and insipid when placed in juxtaposition with such an occa- 
sion. A modern mass political convention might be compared for 
noise and wild confusion with what had been accredited a regiment of 
boisterous militia. The commanding officer of the day would strip his 
saddle of its red girth, belt on his trenchant blade, don his swallow- 
tailed blue, adorned with bullet buttons and red cahco, wave his 

36 



562 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

plumed beaver around his head, and shout his orders, ''parade,'' 
and this was about all he knew of the tactics. Forming his men into 
a straight line was one of the hardest things to do and was seldom 
done without the aid of a corn row. 

In the line were tall, low, long, short, thin and fat, old and 
young, men and boys, clothed with fur and wool hats and caps and no 
hats at all ; cloth coats and jeans, calico and linsey, and no coats at 
all ; boots, shoes and moccasins, and no shoes at all ; new and old 
pants, white, black and striped, and no pants at all ; shirts ruffled and 
unruffled, white, black, blue, green, grey and red, cotton, linen and 
calico, and no shirts at all ; all mingled together in the most hetero- 
geneous and checkered confusion. The officers were more frequently 
selected for their muscle and abundant voice than for any knowledge 
they possessed of the tactics. They realized that it was alone their 
business to give the commands and then for the company to obey and 
perform, and if they failed, it was their look out. 

Many of the Captains, Majors, etc., undertook the difficult task 
of forming a line but once during the day, and that was early in the 
morning. Many of the militia were far more steady when going into 
the fray than when coming out, and such was a militia muster at any 
time from 1812 to 1847, a great, grand, laughable silly farce, not only 
tolerated, but legalized and commanded by the laws of the State. No- 
body wanted to muster but the Captains, Majors, and so on, yet the 
people, like good citizens, obeyed three times annually, leavmg labor, 
home duties and business to undergo this most absurd of absurdities. 
The sober, intelligent class of people became more and more dis- 
gusted. They were annoyed, bedevilled and out of all patience, and 
longed for the day to come when the Legislature would have sense 
enough to repeal the law, and thus end, a miserable farce and mfer- 
nal nuisance. It seemed this long looked for day would never come, 
so the people, that is those who wanted to work and did not want to 
submit longer to the orders of a few bullet-headed, self opinionated 
mock patriots, determined to place quietus upon the militia drills. How 
to do this was a question uncertain with many but the leaders. It 
was soon determined to meet the militia half way on the drill ground, 
and, if possible, to present a front uniformed in more colors, more 
rags, worse hats, and meaner guns than the soldiers could procure in 
a week's search. Under the law, company drill was appointed in 
April, battalion drill in May and regimental muster in October. Thus 
three times a year business men were required to turn out and make 
fools of themselves. A secret meeting of a few leaders was appointed 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 663 

• 

in March, 1847, and at this meeting it was determined to parade a 
company in the month of April which should be known as the " Quiz- 
zicals." Recruiting officers we^^ appointed and the strictest secrecy 
was enjoined upon each man. Strange as it may seem, there were 
some good citizens, actuated from patriotic motives and nothing 
more, who honestly believed it to be the duty of every militiaman to 
muster at the appointed time and were equally horrified at any at 
tempt to throw cold water upon the organization. They lamented the 
lethargic spirit so plainly manifested and governed by the old maxim, 
" Birds which can sing, and won't sing, must be made to sing," and 
boldly announced that belief. Some even went so far as to say, 
" Give me a commission and I'll make 'em drill." This coercive spirit 
made the " Quizzicals " more determined than ever, and every remark 
was seized and safely stored away in memory's safe basket for future use. 
The " Quizzicals" held their secret meetings, formed their plans and not 
a breath had ever articulated a sound whereby the object of the rebels 
could be suspicioned. There was danger ahead, yet they braved it 
all, and on the April muster day, when the village was filled with 
militia men armed with cornstalks, flintlock guns without any flints, 
squirrel rifles without hammers, old sabres eaten up by rust, and many 
other instruments of military insignificance, the Quizzicals came 
slowly and noislesssly out from their half dozen secret meeting rooms, 
arrayed in all the paraphernalia of ingenious burlesque. Their ar- 
rangements had been so perfected, so well understood and so system- 
atically and accurately carried out, the militia were made ashamed, 
not only of their military training, but of their dress, which was now 
shown up by the burlesques in all of its hideousness. 

At a certain signal, the several squads were on the march and 
with regular precision swung into line. No single human outside of 
the command had anticipated their coming. No human knew where 
they had come from, who they were, what was up or what they intended 
doing. 

Soon a golden banner emblazoned in great golden letters,'* Soldiers 
in Peace, Citizens in War," was elevated over the head of a horrid Fal- 
staphian, and this the immense stomached monstrosity as he appeared, 
was considerate enough to conspicuously display to the amazed and 
uneasy multitude. The rank, more than the file, were inhumanely 
attired in rags of many colors, false faces of unheard of shapes and 
imaginations, cows, tin and wooden horns, tin and wooden sabres from 
six inches to ten feet in length, spurs from the size of a shirt button 
to that of a town clock face, guns from the ordinary toy to one the 



564 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

« 

the size of a gunsmith's sign, necessitating two men to pack it. In 
short, the burlesque was an actuality complete and beyond any sort 
of misunderstanding. This squad of malconformed, misproportioned, 
beautiless militia killers, marched over the village, followed by hun- 
dreds of men, women, negroes, boys and children, halting here and 
there to partake of the hospitality of some citizens who fully endorsed 
the movement. Thev soon became the center of attraction to which 
gravitated all of the past worshipers of the militia. It was a dead- 
ener ; the patriot soldiers were disgusted, perhaps no more with the 
Quizzicals than with themselves. Soldiers slipped away and hid them- 
selves, or else became outspoken friends of the burlsqueing party, 
and so strong was this feeling, it was believed that no more musters 
would be ever attempted in Henderson. 

The day closed with the militia under the weather, the Quizzicals 
master of the situation. Every means was employed to detect the 
rebels, but so secretly did they disband, for a long time none of them 
were positively known. Thus ended the April company muster. 

In May th5 battalion muster, a still larger one was to take place, 
and although it was believed that the heavy dose administered to the 
militia at the company muster would suffice to break up the nonsense 
but it was soon found out, the muster officers were using herculean 
efforts to present an imposing parade on battalion day. This, then, 
determined the Quizzicals to repeat the dose, and in corresponding 
numbers. A meeting was held, extra recruiting officers appointed, 
and a determination manifested to interest the whole county. Re- 
cruits were taken in and pledged to secrecy. 

A report was circulated that the Quizzicals had disbanded and 
would never appear again in public, and this, of course, emboldened 
the patriot commanders. Yet, notwithstanding this report, some one 
was indiscreet enough to intimate another turnout. Threats were 
made that if they did the last one of them would be arrested, and the 
militia had the force to do that very thing. No matter, the Quizzicals 
worked along, secretly preparing for a high turnout, to be, if possible, 
on a greater burlesque scale than their previous effort. Recruits came 
in rapidly and every preparation had been effected, considering the 
larger number engaged, with more precision than in April. 

Dr. William Read, one of the instigators of the movement, and 
certainly one of the most original, ingenious, and mirth provoking 
men of that day, painted upon several banners correct likenesses, yet 
cutting caricatures of some of the militiar officers and others, who had 
expressed strong faith in the militia law. He had also made arrange- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 565 

merits for a brass band to be on hand, and a brass band in those days 
was something sufficient to upset a whole country, and draw for many 
miles. In fact it was agreater curiosity than a whole Centennial Ex- 
position would be for these times. 

The flowery month of May came, and with it bright hopes of 
the coming muster. Adolphus and his Angelina had prepared their 
turnout suits, and talked over the times they would have in the village. 
Puffed up Captains were anxious for the appointed time to arrive 
when they could march at the head of valiant Knights, and air their 
Dolly Varden uniforms. The "Quizzicals " were secretly viewing the 
circumstantial field and amusedly counting the effect of their parade 
upon the tender sensibilities of the patriots. 

Muster day arrived on time, and with it all the multitude of hang- 
ers-on, including dogs, donkeys, and howling hoodlums. The fellow 
with the historical chip upon his shoulder was there, the gentleman 
with the injin rubber tank was there, fortified to find a safe lodging 
place for all the liquor gratuitously contributed; the two by four poli- 
tician ready to " 'spute " with the oldest man on the ground was there. 
The notorious " best man " in the county wis there, ready to knock 
down or be knocked down, just as it so happened; a great army of ne- 
groes begged time from the plow to attend the great holiday gathering- 
The village was filled to overflowing, yet none of the visitors knew 
what a treat was in store for them. They didn't know that a brass 
band was in town. The " Quizzicals " had appointed the same hour 
for the parade and were to appear simultaneously with the soldiers. 

It was appointed for the Court House bell to ring, then the whole 
army of " Quizzikers " as they were called, was to remove from their 
secret fastnesses and unite at a selected and well understood place. 
While the State drummer was absolutely fanning the wool off of the 
skin of his drum, and the fifer blowing a crick into his neck, the Court 
House bell rang, and just such a sight was never before seen on top 
of or underneath the globe. From every alley, from every street 
came squads of " Quizzicals " gorgeously arrayed in uniforms incom" 
prehensible and confounding. The brass band which had been 
brought into town from Evansville during the night, and hid away 
without being detected by a living soul, ushered forth from a narrow 
alley blowing in melodious harmony, " Old Grimes is Dead, that Good 
Old Soul." The effect was electrical; from every direction came the 
naughty " Quizzicals," and in the shortest possible time had fallen 
into their proper places, as though they had been drilling for a six 
months or more. The State drummer and fifer called a halt in their 



566 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

"wind and beat," and beat a retreat to hide themselves from the 
glimmering rays of those brass horns. Horses, as though they knew 
the day of judgment had come, snapped bridle reins and halters, and 
scampered for the woods with all their might and main. Those who 
had never heard a brass band, stood paralized and shivering ; old 
women shouted Hallelujah, while half-dozen old soldiers stepped 
around the corner to take another pull at the black bottle, and forever 
renounce allegiance to the malitia. The Quizzicals marched and 
counter-marched until their numbers had been increased to two hun- 
dred and fifty or three hundred. They were armed to the teeth with 
genuine shooting irons, but then the militia did not know that they had 
come to stay, and not to be arrested — they had come to administer a 
dose which would forever settle the stomachs of the ambitious and 
haughty captains of the State forces; they were strong and they knew 
it, they were armed and they knew it, they were backed by the better 
class of people and they knew it, and most unmercifully did they rub, 
in the burlesque. 

A description of this motley crew would be impossible ; men six 
feet four inches long were mounted upon mules four feet high, men 
weighing two hundred and fifty pounds were mounted on small 
animals fed for the occasion, men were dressed in shucks, uniforms 
and false faces absolutely hideous were worn by the rank and file, but 
the music was good. The militia retired to what was known as the 
Taylor field, now in the Third Ward, where they were soon followed by 
the " Quizzicals." They marched around them time and again with 
the band playing its best music, and when the band ceased 
playing, they were furnished music not quite so refined or melodious. 
It seemed that the whole stock of tin horns, then in the world, had 
been collected together and turned loose at one and the same time, 
no one of them conveying the same sound. The patriots were out- 
done, humiliated, disgusted. The great crowd of spectators had left 
them in their glory, and was paddling along in front, alongside, in the 
rear and all around the brass band. 

The Quizzicals returned to town with their banners flying and 
were received by the gracious few remaining on the streets with shouts 
of rapturous approval. Col. Burbank became enthusiastic and inxited 
the whole command to his factory on the corner of Main and Third 
Streets, to partake of a sufficiency of his eight-year old. Of this 
" Cornicopia" the command helped themselves freely, so freely that 
many of them were unable to keep in line, keep the step or keep their 
stomachs. Mr, A, B, Barret entertained the anti-militia, and others 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 567 

did likewise. From that time, militia musters became unpopular and 
a militiaman was as much afraid of a Quizzical as he could have been 
of any burlesquing terror. To the Quizzicals of Henderson, no doubt, 
the credit is due of breaking up muster drills in Kentucky. 

THE FAMOUS DOG SUPPER. 

Over half a century ago, when Henderson was but a small village 
with storeboat gunwales for sidewalks, in place of her now broad and 
symmetrical engineered brick pavements and stone reservoirs, there 
lived here a company of young men noted for their wit and humor ; 
their 

" Quips and cranks and wanton wiles, 
Nods and becks and wreathed smiles," 

whose sole aim it was to practice upon the unsuspecting some original 
bit of humor, calculated at times to unnerve the victim, yet at all 
times intensely amusing to those of the party and to others doing the 
duty of casual spectators. 

At that time there stood on Court Hill an insignificant building 
called a Court House, at the end of which was an ell with two rooms, 
one of them used for a County, the other for a Circuit Clerk's office. 
These depositories of chancery, common law and statutory records 
were as orderly during the day as the chronic grumbler of well settled 
habits could wish, but after nightfall they became the haunts of mirth 
and gaiety, good humor and high glee. A flow of spirits, the sun- 
shine of the mind, mixed as serenely with the social atmosphere as 
does the glittering dewdrop with the sweets of the morning rose. It 
was there that plans were formed. 'Twas there that minds, cultivated 
by a close communion with the classics — unbridled and skipping like 
young colts — in the field of fancy, shaped the mould from out of which 
something truly amusing was to come. 'Twas there the famous " Dog 
Supper " received its embryo life, and it was there it culminated in 
such sickening actuality. The story of this supper was at one time a 
national one, and to this day many readers will recall the memories 
of that old canine festivity. There are those yet living who heard of the 
feast at the time it occurred ; others who have had a traditionary 
knowledge of it, while others have read it in the light of a romance in 
** Lonz Powers," a book written by Hon. James Weir, of Owensboro. 
The s^ory is an intensely interesting one, and the best of it is, it is 
true. 

In giving a brief history of the " Dog Supper," I shall take the 
liberty of using "Lonz Powers" freely, as that is by far the best 



568 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

history ever written of that interesting entertainment. The author of 
Lonz Powers used ideal names. I shall use the true names so far as 
it lies with me. There were five leading characters officiated in the 
getting up and serving of the " Dog Supper." Their names were, 
William D., Samuel and Young E. Allison, Harvey Green and Thos. 
Towles, Jr. Old Dan Shallow, who figured so conspicuously upon 
that occasion was a magistrate who called himself "Judge," a self- 
conceited, harmless old fellow whom this particular crowd loved to 
joke at all times. 

It was a very usual thing about that lime, for the young meti of 
the town to have bachelor suppers — that is, suppers where none but 
male bipeds were invited. The Allisons had enjoyed many of these 
social feasts and convivial rejoicings and now felt it incumbent upon 
them to give one in return and thus repay the hospitality of their 
numerous acquaintances, for they disliked the idea of being in this 
way indebted even to their best friends. 

These gentlemen were all bachelors, for, although great jokers 
themselves, marriage was a practical joke they had hitherto studiously 
avoided. Sam knew how dangerous it was to trust too much to the 
sympathy of the heart, and had, therefore, discreetly dodged the 
question whenever pressed too close by maid or widow, and had so 
far escaped not onlv the bonds of Hymen, but any suit for a breach 
of promise, for he took especial care never to write letters, and in the 
language of " Uncle Johnny Weller," kept a sharp look-out on the 
" Vidders," But Sam was now fully determined on one thing, and 
that was to give a supper which he vowed should be a "dog fine 
feast" and one both sumptuous and unique. 

On the same day of one of those celebrated militia musters at 
Pleasant Grove, our joking friend was so fortunate as to decoy into 
his stronghold a fat, old, goutish canine by the name of "Watch," — 
a name, by the by, not at all significant of his peculiar qualities, for 
he slept full three-fourths of his time, and would devote the other 
fourth to the same luxury had not necessity compelled him to pass it 
in eating. Old Watch acknowledged no master, and, like all dogs of 
this kind, was an independent, careless dog, passing his years in 
glorious idleness, feeding on the fat of the land, lying on cellar doors, 
turning up his aristocratic nose at his lean companions and enjoying 
himself, like many men of the same occupation and pursuits. His 
days were numbered, however, for he had struck the joker's fancy, 
and so Sam Allison sacrificed him upon the altar of fun and dedicated 
him to the nourishment of his hungry friends. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 569 

In the summer of 1835, a neat little note of invitation, enveloped 
in a perfumed covering, was sent with due form and etiquette to some 
dozen or more of Sam's particular friends and acquaintances. Mr. 
Allison was open and frank in the use of his language, reminding his 
friends that it should be a supper if. nothing more than a dog supper. 
These invitations were signed " Sam Allison," and one of them was 
addressed to old Judge Shallow. " By blood," said the Judge upon 
receiving his invitation, " but what the devil he means by dog supper 
I don't know and don't care, so that he has a good supper and a plenty 
to drink." The other friends each received a similar invitation, all of 
them containing a distinct invitation to a dog supper. 

Knowing Sam's proneness for jokes, they laughed over his allu- 
sion to a canine feast, faking it for granted that a fat saddle of venison 
and all the et ceieras of high living awaited their coming. Duly to the 
moment, the guests gathered around his hospitable board and sat 
down in high glee and good humor to partake of the dainties he had 
prepared for them. It was a laughing, jolly company, and Judge 
Shallow was there in all of his glory, and, as he had not eaten any 
dinner, needed neither pickle nor whisky to sharpen his 
appetite. At the request of the host, he had taken the seat of honor, 
not on his right or left, as was the custom of kings, but at the foot of 
the table immediately facing his host, while by his side sat young 
Donald McConnel, (Tom Towles), a wild fellow much given to 
reading Shakespeare, and who scarcely ever conversed except with 
quotations from the old tragedians, now and then simplified and made 
intelligible by remarks of his own. Tom was a rare bird and particu- 
larly odious to the old Judge, for he had strong suspicions of his 
sanity, and on the present occasion would have preferred his being a 
little further removed from his valuable person, for to tell the truth, 
the Judge was slightly timid of his company, not so much *' on account 
of himself as of the public and his family," as he was accustomed to 
say when avoiding any danger. 

At the head of the festive board sat the joker, his eyes twinkling 
with delight and his whole face beaming with humor. No guest could 
have wished a more happy, joyous or smiling entertainer. They were 
certain of the welcome, and as certain of a good supper, and all were 
well disposed for fun, frolic and high humor. Immediately before 
Sam, as the leading dish of the table, was the body, or rather the 
saddle, of "Old Watch," cooked and prepared in the finest style, 
beautifully brown and inviting, sending forth a savory odor and 
tempting in no small degree the palates of the anxious and expectant 



570 - HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

guests. Uncle Sam Johnson, a colored individual of those days, noted 
for his pugilistic as well as keen perception of well behaved qualities, 
vjcis tht co?ino/sseur oi the a.n culinary upon the occasion. Royally 
did he roast " Old Watch," and royally grand did he locate him upon 
the shining porcelain. 

Pouring out a glass of wine and motioning his friends to do the 
same, Sam arose to his feet and gave a toast standing, " Here's that 
you may all have good and strong appetites for the 'dog supper ' — to 
the memory of all dogs in general — hoping that they may live as long, 
grow as fat, and die as glorious a death as ' Old Watch.' " 

The shout that greeted Sam's toast shook the house to its very 
foundation and alarmed the neighborhood tor many squares around. The 
delighted company, unsuspecting the joke now playing upon them- 
selves, and little dreaming of the reality of Sam Allison's joke, drank 
off their bumpers in high glee at the merry humor of their host, while 
Tom Towles, with a jovial twinkle of the eye, exclaimed : 

" He was a gash an' faithfu' tyke 
As ever lap a sheugh or djke. 
His honest, sowsie, baws'nt face 
Ay gat him friends in ilka place ; 
His breast was white, his towzie back 
Well clad wi' coat o' glossy black; 
His gawcie tail, wi' upward curl, 
Hung o'er his hurdies wi' a swurl." 

" Well done, Tom ! " cried Sam, laughing. " You have given as 
faithful a description of ' Old Watch ' as if done by myself. But fall 
to," he continued, flourishing his carver, "and never cry 'hold! 
enough ! ' until dog and wine can no longer be forced down your 
gullets. Sam Allison never begrudges his victuals so long as his 
friends are satisfied with dog. Come, my wise administrator of the 
laws," said he, addressing Judge Shallow, " shall I help you to a slice 
of this canine dish ? " 

"Ay, ay," replied the Judge, merry with wine and glad with the 
expectation of a good supper. " By blood ! send me down a lion's 
portion of the venison, or dog, as you choose to call it. I can hide as 
much of a brown roast in my slim body " — slapping his attenuated 
abdomen — " as jolly Falstaff dare do in his palmiest days." 

" To that I'll be sworn upon all the books in England," muttered 
Towles. 

The two brothers of Sam — William D. and Young E. — did the 
part of servitors at this bachelor feast, while he, sitting at the head of 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 571 

the table, continued zealously to supply the constant demands of his 
guests for what they, innocently humoring the whim of their host, 
laughingly called "dog." Lihgrally and bountifully did the joker fill 
the plates of his friends from the fat saddle of " Old Watch," and 
never was a haunch of venison so lauded and admired. It was praised 
for its fatness, its juiciness and peculiar flavor, and again and again 
did Sam, flourishing his carver, supply the demands of his ravenous 
company. 

But now old Judge Shallow, filled with repletion, and unable to 
swallow another morsel, threw down his knife, and while complacently 
rubbing his provision depot, exclaimed ; " By blood ! I can eat no 
more ! and if I continue to feel as I now do, will never eat again." 
The remainder of the guests followed the example of the Justice, gave 
up the contest and awaited the signal to move. Towles, as a finale to 
the feast, crying out with mock solemnity : 

" Immortality and fellowship with me. and the light and joy of telicity 
All these hast thou reached to-day! Leave, then, the dog behind thee." 

" Rather say leave the bones," hiccoughed the old Judge, " for 
the meat we take with us, or I am no judge of a picked carcass." 

But Sam had no thought of letting them off so easily. They had 
enjoyed themselves vastly on his wine and dog, and at his expense, 
and he now thought it time to shift the scenes and slightly vary the 
entertainment. Rapping upon the table to draw the attention of his 
noisy guests, Sam filled his glass, bidding them to do likewise, and 
then, bowing, exclaimed : 

"One more toast, gentlemen. Here's to the memory of old 
Watch ! When alive his good humored face and fat, waddling sides 
have often gladdened our eyes ; when dead, he still remembers his 
friends and administers to their comfort, pleasure, and appetite ; peace 
be to his manes, and may his lazy spirit tumble into some world, 
where he'll find plenty to eat and nothing to do." 

The jolly company, with hip, hip, hurrah ! duly drank down this 
toast with all the honors, although the shouts of some of them were a 
little faint, and a suspicious paleness began to gather around the 
corners of their mouths. A faint glimmering of the truth was now- 
dawning upon the mind of more than one of that jovial crowd, and 
very naturally beginning to work a marked change in their hitherto 
joyful countenances. Towles, with a sickly smile, excited by his sus- 
picions, exclaiming, " Ah, no more of that, Hal ; an' thou lovest 
me ? " 



572 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

Yet they were not fully convinced ; but the joker did not leave 
them long in doubt, for he continued playing witli wicked pleasure 
upon their fears and suspicions. The present scene he said but proves 
that great and leading fact — that habit and custom make the man. 
The Chinese consider a filthy bird nest the most choice of all food ; 
and we, setting ourselves up for judges, laugh at their folly and curse 
their filthiness. The Jews, led astray by the superstitions and laws 
of his nation, look with holy horror upon the carcass of a well fed 
hog ; while we, ridiculing their prejudice, think nothing equal to a 
well cmed ham. Some nations of the earth think no food so pleas- 
ant and palatable as a dish from the human body ; while we, softened 
and refined by Christianity and civilization, revolt at the very idea. 
The Indians of the West and Pacific Islands, and even the inhabi- 
tants of some of the most ancient and refined nations, dream of no 
food more excellent than a roasted dog — and yet we, led astray by the 
habits and customs of the country, never think of trying this favorite 
dish. But it is all habit and custom and prejudice," said Sam, with 
a quizzical leer at his gaping audience ; " for here we have been sup- 
ping upon that eschewed and abominable dish, and in our ignorance 
praising it for the very best and most delicious venison. The last 
time 5'ou saw old Watch, my friends," continued the joker with mock 
seriousness, "he was taking the sunshine on a cellar door. Poor fel- 
low ! You will never see him there again ! His deep, mellow bark 
will never more arouse you from your slumbers, or disturb your pleas- 
ant dreams. All that now remains of him is this well picked carcass 
before me, and here," continued Sam, stooping down and drawing 
from under the table the well-known, familiar head and skin of old 
Watch, " is the only memento of that gallant dog and of this glorious 
feast. At the sight of the bloody head, the waggish Towles, true to 
the drama, although about sinking under the effect of nausea, sprang 
to his feet, exclaiming with tragic vehemence, 

"Thou canst not say, I did it. Never shake 

Thy gory locks at me. 

Avaunt and quit my sight ! Let the earth hide thee ! 

Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold ; 

Thou hast no speculation in those eyes 

Which thou dost glare with !" 

During the short speech of Sam an awful change had been grad- 
ually creeping over the late merry faces of his guests. There was a 
contracting of muscle, a heaving of chests, and the old Judge, with 
rueful countenance, had already pointed out the place of disease, by 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 573 

laying his hand submissively, and with Christian kindness, upon his 
stomach. But when the joker, like Anthony exhibiting the wounds in 
the dead Caesar's body, held up to their astonished gaze the grinning, 
ghastly remains of old Watch, the effect was electrical. No orator 
has ever produced a more rapid and wonderful revolution in the feel- 
ings, thoughts and actions of his auditory, than Sam Allison in his short 
address. The old Judge, having gorged himself with an anaconda 
portion of the dog, was now disgorging the same as fast as nature and 
the case would allow^ His long, wiry figure, bent over the back of a 
chair, resembling an inverted letter "C," was heaving like the storm- 
tossed ocean. Whenever his own nauseous stomach would give him 
an instant of peace, the Justice would turn his long, doleful face, pale 
with sickness, and rueful with tears, upon his suffering and nauseated 
companions, muttering, as he rubbed his heaving and rapidly decreas- 
ing abdomen, " O, Lordy !" " O, Lordy !" Then he would take another 
turn at old Watch, mingling along with sighs and groans and tears his 
favorite oath of " By Blood," and prayers and supplications for relief 
with " O, Lordy ! " " O, Lordy ! " 

But every storm must blow over, and so did this tempest-tossed 
company of heaving " suppers out, " at last find a calm, if not to their 
troubled souls, at least to their troubled stomachs, in which latitude 
and longitude their souls were just about that time pretty generally 
centered. Each guest, so soon as he was able to stagger away, seized 
his hat and, without ceremony or leave taking, made tracks for home, 
fully satisfied with their frolic. They staggered along their several 
ways, some swearing, some laughing and some stopping to take 
another heave, but all muttering "dog." Towles made a ludicrous 
attempt at a tragic farewell, but once more struck with a sudden 
nausea at the sight of old Watch's grinning head, it was no go! — he 
broke down in the midst of his quotation, and beat a retreat as best 
he could, laughingly shaking his fist at the shouting Sam. Old Judge 
was the last man to desert the festive board, for, having laid in a 
greater amount of dog than his comrades, it took him a longer time 
to disembark it. At last he too made his arrangements to take his 
departure. With both hands pressed tightly upon his weary and badly 
strained stomach, his eyes still wet with tears and his countenance 
still rueful from sickness and pain, he lingered a moment to cast one 
look (more of sorrow than anger) upon his laughing host and the well- 
picked carcass before him. Sam, noticing his fixed and earnest gaze, 
seized the carver, crying out, " Ha, Judge! shall I help you to another 
slice of Old Watch? " 



674 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

It was too much for the Judge, for, although he made a terrible 
effort and struggled hard for the mastery, he had at last to succumb, 
and with a deep groan, leaning his aching head against the door post, 
he again went through a mimic representation of the " Ground Swell " 
of the Sea. At length the good Justice also managed to leave the 
festive hall and steer his way for home. The cool night air brought 
some relief to his fevered brow. Once more free from sickness was 
fast regaining his spirits, when Fate, the ill-natured sprite, played 
him another naughty trick, bringing back a relapse of the old disease. 

The moment when entering his own premises, and when he was 
congratulating himself upon having arrived in safety, and was even so 
far recovered as to utter with considerable gusto several emphatic 
"By bloods," his house dog, running out to give him welcome, leaped 
playfully upon him, looking wistfully up in his face. This combina- 
tion of ideas was too strong for the delicate nerves and stomach of 
the poor Judge, for the bark of his welcoming friend reminded him too 
forcibly of the deep bay of old Watch and his grinning mouth and 
head, and again was this unfortunate Justice compelled to unload a 
little more of the old canine. 

Once since the famous night of the feast, Sam Allison, by swinging 
the skin of old Watch over his shoulders and taking a walk 
through town, caused so much sickness and vomiting that for a short 
time the faculty were disposed to believe that cholera had made its 
dread appearance in their village. Nor were they fully convinced of 
their error, until Sam gave them an instance of the peculiar power 
and influence of that last and only memento of old Watch and the 
" dog supper." 




GOV. ARCHIBALD DIXON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



MEMORIAL OF GOV. ARCHIBALD DIXON'S FAMILY. 

/C^ APTAIN WYNN DIXON.— The father of Hon. Archibald Dixon, 
^^ was Captain Wynn Dixon, who fought through the Revolu- 
tionary War, having joined the army at the early age of sixteen. 
He moved from North Carolina to Henderson, Ky., in 1804. His 
father, Colonel Henry Dixon, commanded a regiment in the Revolu- 
tionary War, and was killed at the battle of Eutaw Springs. Light 
Horse Harry Lee, in his miemoirs of the Revolution, pays Colonel 
Henry Dixon a high compliment for his gallantry and bravery at the 
battle of Camden. 

Hart Family. — The mother of Hon. Archibald Dixon was 
Rebecca Hart, daughter of David Hart, of North Carolina. David 
Hart, and his brothers Nathaniel and Tom, were three of the nine 
members of the Henderson Grant Company, who, in 1775, through 
their agent, Daniel Boone, purchased ot the Indians all that part of 
Kentucky lying between the Kentucky and Cumberland Rivers, and 
established at Boonesboro the first government in Kentucky, called 
Transylvania, 

Cabell Family.— Hon. Archibald Dixon married Elizabeth Rob- 
ertson Cabell in 1832. Children by that marriage : Rebecca Hart, 
(wife of Hon. John Young Brown), Susan Bell, deceased (who mar- 
ried first Cuthbert Powell, second Major John J. Reeve), Dr. Archi- 
bald Dixon, Hon. Henry C. Dixon and Joseph C. Dixon. 

Dr. William Cabell, a native of England, and a graduate of the 
Royal College of Surgeons, in London, immigrated to Goochland, 
now Nelson County, Va., in 1723 or 1724. He had four sons, first, 



576 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

William ; second, Joseph, who was also a physician ; third, John ; 
fourth, Nicholas. Dr. Joseph Cabell married Mary Hopkins, aunt of 
General Samuel Hopkins. Children by that marriage : Joseph, 
Mary, who married John Breckinridge, Ann, who married Benjamin 
Harrison, and Elizabeth. 

BoLLiNG Family. — Joseph Cabell, father of Elizabeth Robert- 
son Cabell, married the second time Ann E., daughter of Archibald 
Boiling, of Red Oak, Buckingham County, Va., and his wife, Jane 
Randolph. Archibald Boiling was lineally descended from Colonel 
Robert Boiling of Petersburgh, Va., and his wife, who was the grand- 
daughter of the Indian Princess Pocahontas. 

Bullitt Family. — The second wife of Hon. Archibald Dixon 
was Susan, daughter of William C. Bullitt, of Jefferson (.'ounty, Ky., 
whom he married in 1853. Children by that marriage : Kate J., who 
married D. R. Burbank, Jr., William B. and Thomas B. 

The father of William C. Bullitt was Alexander Scoit Bullitt, 
who emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky in 1780. He was Presi- 
dent of the First Constitutional Convention oi Kentucky, and her 
first Lieutenant Governor. 

The mother of William C. Bullitt was the daughter of Colonel 
William Christian, and own neice of the celebrated orator, Patrick 
Henry. Colonel Christian was killed by the Indians, near Louisville, 
Ky., in 1782. Christian County is named for him. 

The mother of Susan Bullitt, wife of Archibald Dixon, was Ann 
Fry, a lineal descendant of Colonel Joshua Fry, of Virginia. Joshua 
Fry was Colonel of the regiment of which George Washington was 
Lieutenant Colonel. He died a short while before " Braddock's de- 
feat," when Washington succeeded him in the command. 

The father of Ann Fry was Thomas Walker, the first surveyor to 
run a line in Kentucky. He was in Kentucky before Daniel Boone's 
visit in 1769. 

Archibald Dixon — Was born on the second of April, 1802, in 
Caswell County, N. C. His father, Wynn Dixon, had been in good 
circumstances, but, through suretyship, had lost his property, and in 
1805, with his family, came to Henderson County, Ky., and resided 
there until his death. His son, Archibald, had no other educational 
advantages than could be obtained in this county, then almost an un- 
populated wilderness. At twenty years of age he began the study of 
law in the Town of Henderson, in the office of James Hillyer, an at- 
torney of high character and fine legal attainments, and, despite his 
meagre education, he pursued his studies with such industry that at 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 577 

twenty-two he was admitted to the bar, and very soon took a com- 
manding position. 

His career as a lawyer was a success. In the surrounding coun- 
ties, in Kentucky and Indiana, he was employed in nearly all import- 
ant contested cases, and was in them always a leader. His learning 
was extensive, his energy without limit, and his zeal and devotion to 
his clients won him an absolute trust. No labor was so onerous, no 
peril so imminent, no sacrifice so great as to cause him to abate one 
jot of his duty. If a man had the right on his side, with Dixon as 
his advocate, he was safe. His reputation as a lawyer was wide 
spread and enduring. He was a great criminal lawyer, but was al- 
ways for the defense, and would never take a fee in the prosecution. 

He was not permitted to follow uninterrupted the profession of 
his choice, but in 1830 was elected by the Whig party to represent Hen- 
derson County in the Lower House of the General Assembly. This po- 
sition he filled with his accustomed ability and fidelity. Returning 
to the practice of law, after his service in the Legislature, he pursued 
it with increasing success and reputation until 1836, when he was 
elected to represent the counties of Daviess, Hopkins and Henderson 
in the State Senate. His term of office expired in 1840, but he had 
then become distinguished throughout the State as a political leader 
of great talent and influence, and he was chosen by the Whig party 
in 1844 as its candidate for Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with 
Governor Owsley. The Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Gover- 
nor was William S. Pilcher, of Louisville, a very accomplished orator. 
In the election, Mr. Dixon's majority exceeded that of Governor 
Owsley by about seven thousand, a handsome tribute to the ability 
and personal popularity of the man. He filled out this term of office 
and was Dut forward strongly for the nomination of the Whig party 
for Governor at the next election, but Mr. Crittenden, then a much 
older leader, and one of the greatest Whigs of his time, was chosen 
as its candidate, and was elected over the late Governor Powell. This 
was in 1848, the year that General Tylor was elected President. 

Mr. Clay, in many respects the greatest statesman and political 
leader of any age or country, was then the most influential citizen of 
Kentucky. 

The next year the State was to form a new Constitution, and the 
question of slavery was making itself disastrously prominent in the 
public mind. At this day it is difficult to realize what intense preju- 
dices pervaded the mass of the slaveholders of Kentucky. To be 

37 



578 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

called an abolitionist in Kentucky in that day was considered the 
grossest insult, and he was a bold man who could, in the mildest way, 
express his dissatisfaction with slavery. 

In February, 1849, Mr. Clay, then in New Orleans, wrote a letter 
to a friend in Lexington, in which he advocated the adoption of some 
plan for the gradual emancipation of the slaves in Kentucky, and 
their removal to a new country. It was a patriotic and far-seeing let- 
ter, and if Mr. Clay had done no other service to his State, it would 
have entitled him to rank with the great men of his day. Had his 
views been promptly adopted in Kentucky, and the other slaveholding 
States, the bloody and devastating war, whose demoralizing effects 
are still felt throughout the country, would have been avoided and 
slavery would have been extinct. But Mr. Clay alienated thousands 
of his friends, and the writer has it from one who was at the time in 
Frankfort, that when he came there that year he was quite neglected. 
He had, heretofore, always been received in Kentucky with enthusi- 
astic devotion, and he felt the neglect keenly. Governor Dixon was 
at the time in Frankfort. He had been Mr. Clay's friend, and while 
he differed as widely from him in his emancipation views as any man 
in the South, he was not disposed to turn the cold shoulder to him. 
He accompanied him alone to the boat when he took his leave, and 
Mr. Clay, with great feeling, said to him ; " Dixon, I believe you are 
the only friend I have left." This incident is told to illustrate the 
fidelity of Mr. Dixon to his friends, and the intensity of that popular 
sentiment in support of slavery, which could wipe out the friendship 
of a lifetime for no other reason than a difference of opinion on that 
subject. However, Mr. Clay's subsequent services to the country re- 
covered the good will of the party in the St^lte, and added increased 
lustre to a fame already wide as the world. 

In that year Mr, Dixon was chosen by Henderson County to 
represent her in the Constitutional Convention. The Convention as- 
sembled in Frankfort on Monday, October 1st, 1849. The Whigs 
nominated Dixon for Chairman, the Democrats Mr. Guthrie, of Louis- 
ville. The latter was chosen by a majority of two, on a strict party 
vote, and it was thus demonstrated that the sceptre was departing 
from the Whigs in Kentucky. 

The present Constitution of Kentucky was the result of the la- 
bors of the Convention, and in its proceedings no man took a more 
able and active part than Mr. Dixon. He was a large slaveholder 
and opposed every move which looked to the overthrow of the institu- 
tion of slavery. He offered a preamble and resolution in the Con- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 579 

vention, in which he asserted the doctrine that the right of private 
property was above constitutional sanction, and that it could not be 
destroyed by governmental authority, nor could private property be 
taken from the owner for any other than public uses, and then only 
upon the condition that he should be fairly compensated therefor. 
The principle was ingrafted into the Constitution, and in advocacy of 
it the distinguished mover of the resolution proved himself one of 
the greatest debaters in the Union. 

'i'he Constitution submitted by the Convention to the people was 
adopted the next year, and the first election for Governor thereunder 
was had in August, 1851. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Clay 
had estranged thousands of friends by his views on slavery, many 
Whigs had been impressed with their wisdom. The Constitution con- 
tained nothing which favored them, on the contrary, it was framed 
with the view to prevent emancipation, and to this day, after slavery 
has been destroyed by civil war, the people find it almost impossible 
to change their Constitution in the manner provided therein. It was 
the object of the slaveholders to prevent any change except after the 
greatest deliberation and repeated expressions of the popular will in 
favor of it. 

The chief opposition to the new Constitution was from the Whio- 
party, Mr. Clay's emancipation views were opposed to it, ;ind its pro- 
visions to protect and perpetuate slavery aroused the hostility of the 
emancipation element in the Whig party. Cassius Clay, a relative of 
the great Clay, and a man of talent, was nominated and ran for Gov- 
ernor as an emancipation candidate. He had been a Whig, and the 
vole he received, amounting to several thousands, was drawn almost 
exclusively from the Whig party. 

Mr. Dixon was enthusiastic and active in his advocacy of the 
new Constitution, and, of course, was constantly antagonizing that 
portion of the Whig party which opposed it. So bitter was the Whig 
opposition that it became evident that it would be difficult for that 
party in its divided condition to retain control of the State. 

In December, 1850, Mr. Dixon, in answer to repeated solicita- 
tions to become its candidate for Governor, published an address to 
the Whigs of Kentucky, in which he stated clearly the causes of dis- 
sensions in the Whig party, and the difficulties under which he would 
labor as its candidate, in view of his position in reference to the new 
Constitution, and urged his friends not to place his name before the 
Convention. Nevertheless, he was nominated by the Convention for 
Governor, and made a canvas? which, though unsuccessful, increased 
his reputation and influence.* 



580 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The Democratic party, on the other hand, being united and con- 
fident of victory, nominated Mr. Dixon's neighbor and personal 
friend. Governor Powell. It could not have made a wiser nomina- 
tion. Governor Powell added to great talents, and an acquaintance 
throughout the State, a personal popularity, a geniality of temper, 
and a charm of manner, which made him the strongest Democrat in 
Kentucky. 

The canvass was a hot one. Perhaps the two candidates spoke 
in every county in the State, certainly in nearly every county, and the 
vote was so close that for weeks the result was unknown and the 
greatest excitement prevailed. At last the official count settled the 
election upon Governor Powell by a majority of eight hundred and 
fifty. Cassius Clay received about six thousand Whig votes. Despite 
the prominence of Dixon as an advocate of the new Constitution, it 
is doubtful if any other Whig could have obtained against Governor 
Powell the vote which he received. It is creditable to both the dis- 
tinguished gentlemen that they continued through life the warmest 
personal friends, although so often and so sharply opposed in political 
feeling and interest. 

Mr. Clay was spending his last days in the Senate, serving his 
country to the end, when Dixon and Powell were contending for the 
Governorship of Kentucky. 

The year before, the agitation of the slavery question in Congress 
had become fiercer and more portentious than ever, and it was no 
doubt in a great measure owing to Mr. Clay's extraordinary personal 
influence that what has been known as the compromise measures of 
1850 were adopted, and the evil day of civil war postponed. On ac- 
count of his failing health he tendered his resignation as Senator, to 
take effect on the meeting of Congress in December, 1852. It was 
accepted, and the Legislature of Kentucky elected Mr. Dixon to fill 
the remainder of his term. Thus he became the successor of Mr. 
Clay, and no man in Kentucky was worthier to succeed him. 

In the Senate, as in every other position in life, he became a 
man of influence. The evil spirit of discord had only been laid for a 
time by the compromise measures of 1850. In 1854, Senator Doug- 
las, of Illinois, Chairman of the Committee on Territories, offered a 
bill to organize Territorial Governments for Kansas and Nebraska. 
Immediately the winds of passion were let loose. The original bill, 
as offered by Douglas, proposed that when these territories should be 
admitted as States, they should be received into the Union with or with- 
out slavery, as their Constitution might prescribe at the time of their ad- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 581 

mission. Under the eighth section of the act of March 6th, 1820, known 
as the Missouri Compromise act, slavery was prohibited in all the terri- 
tory acquired from France, of -Avhich the Territories of Kansas and 
Nebraska were a part, which lay north of latitude 36° 30', and these 
two territories were altogether north of it, so that while, under the 
provisions of the bill offered by vSenator Douglas, the State Constitu- 
tion might make slavery lawful, it was unlawful under the Missouri 
Compromise act for a slaveholder to take his slaves into the territory 
while it remained in its territorial condition. Mr. Dixon, and every 
slaveholder, knew that if the slaveholders could not take their slave 
property into the territory they would not go there, and that the anti- 
slavery inhabitants would never adopt a State Constitution establish- 
ing slavery. He, therefore, offered an amendment to the bill repeal- 
ing the eighth section of the act of March 6th, 1820, therebv leaving 
the territoiies open alike to the Northern and Southern emigrant, and, 
in effect, transferring the question of slavery from the Congress of 
the United States to the people of the Territories and States. 

After a conference with Judge Douglas, the latter incorporated 
into his bill a section embodying the amendment and reported it again 
to the Senate. The excitement was intense, but the principle con- 
tended for by Dixon was right, and prevailed. In the discussion up- 
on it Judge Douglas proved himself more than a match in debate for 
all the anti-slavery leaders in the Senate. The bill passed both Houses 
of Congress, was approved by President Pierce, and became a law. 

It has been thought that the amendment repealing the Missouri 
Compromise was impolitic and disastrous to the South. It is useless, 
if not idle, to speculate upon the consequences of a measure whose 
influence for good or evil has long since spent itself, but this may be* 
said, that Mr. Dixon was right in principle and had the boldness to 
contend for the rights of the people. When that Missouri prohibition 
was adopted Mr. Jefferson, then in his old age, on April 22d, 1820, 
wrote to his friend John Holmes : " I had for a long time ceased to 
read newspapers, or pay any attention to public affairs, confident 
they were in good hands, and content to be a passenger in our bark 
to the shore from which I am not distant. But this momentous ques- 
tion, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. 
I considered it at once as the knell of the Union. It is hushed, in- 
deed, for the moment, but this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence. 
A geopraphical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral and 
political, and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be 
obliterated, and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper." 



582 HISTORY OF HENDF.RSON COUNTY KY. 

So that those who would hold Governor Dixon responsible for the 
building up of the Republican party must go further back, and place 
the responsibility where it belongs, in the Congress of 1820, which 
adopted the prohibition, which established this line to grow "deeper 
and deeper with every new irritation." Mr. Dixon and Judge Doug- 
las, in 1858, were vindicated by the Supreme Court of the United 
States, in the celebrated case of Dred Scot against Sandford, in an 
opinion of unsurpassed ability and research, in which that Court de- 
cided the eighth section of the Missouri Compromise act unconstitu- 
tional and void. 

This claim, that these two great and patriotic men were right on 
this question, does not commit them or the writer to the approval of 
slavery as an institution. They were acting under a constitution, 
and had to respect the constitutional rights of the people. It was 
not for them to palter with their oaths, in a double sense, and say we 
will uphold the Constitution wherever it suits us, and rend it wher- 
ever it does not suit us. They were for the Constitution they had 
sworn to support. They were right not only in a Constitutional view 
of the question, but right in view of the great principles on which our 
independence as a people rested. The colonies revolted from the 
mother country and established a separate government, in vindica 
tion of the rights of the people to control their local and domestic 
affairs, in their own way, and the Kansas-Nebraska bill, extended to 
the people of the Territories the right to legislate for themselves on 
all local matters, so soon as 'they were organized into a territorial 
government. 

Had the question of slavery been out of the way — a question 
Vhich in that day seemed to cloud the reason of men and make them 
mad — no friend of. republican institutions would have found fault 
with the Kansas-Nebraska bill, but the abolitionist of the North and 
the fire-eater of the South were alike ready to violate the great prin- 
ciples of popular sovereignty, and to demand that Congress should 
so legislate in reference to the Territories as to force upon them 
their peculiar views regardless of the wishes of the inhabitants. 

Other important questions arose during Mr. Dixon's term of of- 
fice, in the consideration of which he took an important and distin- 
guished part. He served out his term, which expired in 1855, main- 
taining a position of influence in that august body, then holding many 
of the greatest statesmen and orators which the country has pro 
duced. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 583 

He returned to his home in Henderson and resumed the practice 
of the law and the management of his large estate. The Know- 
Nothing, or American, party-j.arose about this time, and he was left 
quite alone in politics. The Whig party, which he had served so 
long and well, had been absorbed by that party in the South, and by 
that party and the Republican party in the North. Upon those ques- 
tions of policy which had divided the Whig and Democratic parties 
he was a Whig, and failing to approve the peculiar doctrines of the 
American party, he was left without a party. He abandoned no 
principle. 

In 1856 the Democracy nominated James Buchanan and John C. 
Breckenridge for President and Vice President on a. platform which 
endorsed the principles of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. The Republi- 
can party nominated Fremont and Dayton, and the American party 
nominated Fillmore and Donelson for the same offices. Mr. Dixon 
advocated the election of Buchanan and voted for him, because he 
regarded the Democracy as sound upon the question of slaverv, 
which had become the paramount issue in American politics. 

The Republican party continued to increase in strength, and in 
1860 nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. The Democracy 
split upon the rock of slavery, and Mr. Douglas was nominated by 
the Northern wing and Mr. Breckenridge by the Southern wing of the 
party. The American party, under the name of the Union party, 
composed chiefly of old Whigs of the North, who would not unite in 
an abolition crusade against the South, and old Whigs of the South 
who would not unite with the Secessionists, who were trying to "pre- 
cipitate the cotton States into a revolution," nominated Bell, of Ten- 
nessee, for President, and Everett, of Massachusetts, for Vice Presi- 
dent. It was a party of conservative patriots, but not calculated to 
win in the exciting times which preceded the civil war. 

Mr. Dixon, with his accustomed energy and ability espoused the 
cause of Douglas, but to no purpose, and .he and Breckenridge and 
Bell were defeated, and Lincoln elected, on a strictly sectional plat- 
form, and without an electoral vote from the South, and almost with- 
out a popular vote from a slaveholding State. The line, as prophe- 
sied by Jefferson, had grown deeper, and the frightful spectacle of a 
sectional triumph, based upon open and avowed hostility of the North 
to the South, rose up to terrify all lovers of the Union. Within sixty 
days from the announcement of Mr. Lincoln's election, several of 
the Southern States had formally seceded from the Union and were 
busy with preparations for war. The flag of the country had been 



584 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

displaced by them for another symbol of nationality, and in the mad- 
ness of the hour all the glorious achievements of the united arms of 
the North and the South in the Revolution, in the War of 1812, the 
various Indian wars, and the more recent conquest of Mexico, were 
forgotten, and curses both loud and deep were hurled against the 
Union of our fathers. 

During the winter of 1860-61, Mr. Dixon and many distinguished 
patriots devoted themselves unceasingly in the eifort to stay the tide 
of disunion. A convention of distinguished citizens of the States of 
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Missouri and Kentucky, 
assembled at Louisville and passed patriotic and pacific resolutions. 
Mr. Dixon was a delegate and participated in the proceedings. He 
took a bold stand for the Union, but denounced the secessionists and 
abolitionists as enemies to the Constitution and the Union. He ad- 
vised the border States that in the event of disunion and war, their 
territory would be the theater of battle, and would be devastated by 
the contending armies. His idea was that if these great States in 
the center of the Union would act in concert to prevent a collision of 
arms, the people of the South would undo their folly of secession, 
and that the people of the North would compel Mr. Lincoln, although 
elected as a sectional candidate, to protect the Constitutional rights 
of the South. But it seems as if a Higher Power had grown weary 
of the curse of human slavery, and had pronounced its doom, and no 
counsel, however wise, could restrain the violence of those partisans 
of the cotton States who, in their eagerness to make slavery perma- 
nent, dealt it a death blow in seceding from the Union. 

Mr. Dixon, in his own home, at Paducah, and Frankfort, and in 
other portions of Kentucky, made speeches of extraordinary power 
and eloquence in behalf of the Union, and of the neutrality of the 
State of Kentucky. The writer of this sketch had the pleasure of 
hearing him, and although nearly a quarter of a century has passed, 
he remembers his words, his looks, his voice, as if it were yesterday, 
and language is wholly inadequate to convey an impression of his 
wonderful oratory. But nothing could stay the storm. 

In April, South Carolina opened fire on Fort Sumpter. and the 
Stars and Stripes were hauled down and the flag of the Confederate 
States raised in its stead. Then, indeed, were " the dogs of war let 
loose," and the country given over for four years to tyranny and 
bloodshed. In the North, and in the South, the principles of liberty 
were forgotten. A free press and free speech were silenced. The 
great writ of habeas corpus was contemptuously spurned by any petty 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 585 

corporal, and prisons were filled by citizens of the highest character, 
who were arrested without lawful accusation and held without trial. 

It was in these dark an^ troublesome times that Mr. Dixon's 
character shone most resplendent. Living on the dividing line be- 
tween the North and South, his county and town were the scene of 
many heartrending tragedies. He remained at home, the incarna- 
tion of peace unterrified, amid ihe tumult of war, doing all in his 
power to relieve the distressed and unfortunate of either side, and to 
mitigate the horrors of bloody and irregular warfare. To his influ 
ence and prompt intercession with Mr. Lincoln, with whom he was 
personally acquainted, it is pretty certain that some among the living 
owe their lives. No one applied to him for help that he did not re- 
ceive it, not grudgingly, nor for pay, but receive it free as the air of 
Heaven. 

His farms were ravaged and his slaves forced from their homes. 
He was not made ungenial by wrongs or misfortune, and the slaves 
who had served him in bondage, looked to him as their friend and 
protector in freedom. His influence over them, and their reverence 
and affection for him, showed that he had discharged the duty of a 
master to them, as he had all other duties, in an unexceptionable way, 
and their tears fell freely when he died. 

After the war he took an active interest in building up the pros- 
perity of the country and restoring to the South the Constitutional 
rights to which she was entitled as a part of the Union. He acted 
with the Democratic party, and opposed, those military usurpations in 
the South, which marked the administration of Grant. Occasionally 
he published communications on the affairs of the country, which 
were read far and wide, but his health was too feeble to permit him 
to take an active part in political life He never entered the politi- 
cal arena after the war, but continued to exert the influence of a pri- 
vate citizen in behalf of the Constitution of the country. 

He was especially hostile to the interference of the military in 
elections, and publicly advocated an amendment to the Federal Con- 
stitution prohibiting such interference in either State or Federal 
elections. 

Notwithstanding his activity in State and National affairs, he was 
not unmindful of the local interests of his neighbors and friends. He 
originated many enterprises of great importance to Henderson, and 
urged them forward with energy and resolution. If the writer is cor- 
rectly informed, he was among the first to advocate the building of a 
railroad from" Henderson to Nashville, and the erection of a bridge 



586 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

across the Ohio at Henderson, and was instrumental in procuring 
charters for these great works. His interest in the prosperity of the 
city, and its people, was undiminished through life. 

This is an outline of the career of Governor Dixon, in those mat- 
ters which were of a strictly public nature, and it will be seen that he 
was a man to whose life any country could look with pride and grati- 
tude. But the private life of so distinguished a character can be no 
less interesting than his public career. 

He was a man of the most striking appearance. He was slightly 
above the medium height, and stood perfectly erect There was 
nothing out of line in his figure. In his early and middle life he was 
rather spare, but in old age he became somewhat more fleshy, yet 
never to a degree to impair the symmetery of his proportions. His 
movements were full of grace and dignity. His face was no less at- 
tractive than his form. Every feature of it seemed full of expres- 
sion, and in moments of enthusiasm, when speaking, his eyes seemed 
to flash fire. His temperament was nervous and sanguine, and his 
manner excitable, and at times tempestuous, but he was always se\i- 
controlled, and his will kept in subjection the ardor of his disposition. 
No man possessed a higher order of courage. He was incapable of 
fear, and nothing could daunt him. For twenty years before his 
death' his hair was white as snow, his complexion clear and fair, his 
port majestic, and, seen among ten thousand, he would be singled 
out as a great man. A gentleman of Union County said that he be- 
lieved him the greatest man Kentucky ever produced, and mentioned 
that when he attended court there, if from any cause he was late en- 
tering the court room, as he did so, every eye was turned to gaze upon 
him. Another, who accompanied him to hear his friend Douglas 
speak at Indianapolis in 1860, in that memorable struggle for the 
Presidency, said that when he registered at the hotel inquiries from 
all parts of the office were heard as to who he was. A great soul has 
seldom animated a finer form. 

He was genial and friendly in his intercourse with men, never 
failing to salute those whom he met. The ragged negro in the street 
was as sure of his cheery recognition as the most distinguished of 
his neighbors. To young men he had always words of encourage- 
ment and good cheer, and many now in mature life cherish him in 
their memories with grateful affection. 

His information was extensive and his literary taste very fine. 
He was a lover of Shakespeare, and his conversation and writings 
showed that he was familiar with his masterpieces. Added to his lite- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 587 

rary, legal and political information, he had an extensive business ex- 
perience, and there have been few men who were more practical and 
sensible in their affairs. He -iiad an abundant share of that talent 
which is called common sense, the most useful of all talent. 

His moral character was above suspicion. Being a distinguished 
and successful man he was naturally a mark for calumny, but it is 
doubtful if in the darkest corners, where slander lurks, there was 
ever a whisper against his integrity. He was just, true, public spirited, 
honorable and courageous, a liberal friend to all good enterprises, and 
a most kind hearted gentleman. His bearing toward females was as 
courteous and chivalric as that of the knight errant of the middle 
ages. In social conversation he was quite as happy as in his public 
addresses, and no one capable of appreciating good company could 
talk with him without being instructed and entertained. He was fond 
of out door exercise, and was daily to be seen walking alons: the 
streets, a pleased observer of any improvement that was going on, 
usually in company of some friend or some young man whom he 
wished to help along by his sympathy and fatherly counsel. 

In religion he was no churchman in a sectarian sense, but he was 
a Christian, thoroughly imbued with the great truths taught by the 
Savior, and they comforted him in his last days. He was stricken 
down several weeks before his death, and was conscious that his end 
was near. No unmanly apprehension, no remorse for evil deeds, no 
distrust of the goodness of God, fretted his latter moments. He 
talked of death, and of his accountability to God, as if he, in full 
health, had been discussing the condition of some other person. Yet 
in that time, so full of sorrow to his friends and family, it should not 
be thought that life had lost its attractions for him. When a friend 
called on him a few days before he died, and said that in another 
county his friends had made anxious inquiries concerning his condi- 
tion, he said, with a feeling which wrung tears from those present, 
" Give them my compliments and bid them a long farewell." A few 
days after, on Sunday night, the twenty-sixth of April. 1876, he died, 
surrounded by his family, who had done all that love could suggest 
to prolong his life and soothe his sufferings. 

He was twice married, first in March, 1834, to Mrs. Eliza B. Pol- 
lett, a most estimable woman, who died in 1851, leaving him six chil- 
dren, five of whom still live. In October, 1853, he married Miss 
Sue Bullitt, of Jefferson County, who survives him with three chil- 
dren, and upon whom compliment is exhausted in saying that she is 
in every way worthy the confidence and love which her distinguished 
husband lavished upon her. 



588 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

Archibald Dixon, M. D., Physician and Surgeon, is the second 
son of Hon. Archibald Dixon and Elizabeth Robertson Cabell, and 
was born in Henderson on the 4th day of March, 1844. He received 
his early education at the local schools of his town, was then sent to 
the Sayre Institute at Frankfort, Ky., and afterwards to the Univer- 
sity of Toronto, Canada. 

On the day of December, 1864, he married Miss Maggie 

Herndon, of Frankfort, an intelligent, as well as beautiful woman, a 
good talker, and a social, interesting companion, of a bright and happy 
disposition. 

Dr. and Mrs. Dixon have had born unto them four children, two 
promising sons, Wynn and Archibald, and two affectionate, loving 
daughters, Maggie and Julia. 

Our subject followed the business of farming on his place near 
Henderson up to 1876, yet in earlier life he had acquired a fondness 
for physics, and occupied a great part of his time in reading medical 
works. Circumstances, however, denied him adopting his chosen 
life's work until 1877, when he graduated from the Louisville Medical 
College, one of five of the brightest of his class. Having lost his 
patrimony in 1877, he moved to the City of Henderson to practice 
his profession, starting life anew, with nothing but the profits arising 
from his profession on which to support his family. 

At that time, as now, the profession had enrolled among its 
numbers in Henderson physicians of equal standing with any in the 
entire Commonwealth. These old practitioners held their score of 
patrons against the world, and only when one would die, or move 
away, could a young graduate hope to subsist on anything more than 
the pickings, at all times uncertain in the payment of fees. This 
fact, then, together with all the proverbial difficulties that are attend- 
ant upon a young physician's first practice, Dr. Dixon was necessarily 
required to encounter. 

Did he hesitate ? Did he flinch ? By no means. On the contrary, 
no difficulties, no distresses, dampened his professional zeal. It was 
life and death with him, and for that reason, if for none other, he de- 
voted himself to the work ahead of him with an energy and intelli- 
gence seldom equaled. He went up, up, his evening and morning 
star growing biighier with each day's practice. While many others 
were prophesying his downfall, he was then tasting the fruits of a 
dese'rved harvest, a testimony to his worth, geniality and ability as a 
practicing physician. He fought a manly fight with poverty, and the 
frowns and scowls of an unforgiving and pursuing world, and he has 
won. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 589 

Dr. Dixon is a member of the " Mississippi Valley Medical So- 
ciety," the second largest Association in the country. In 1885, the very 
distinguished honor of President was conferred upon him by the So- 
ciety. He served- with a dignity and intelligence that made him a 
host of friends. 

He is a member of the Kentucky State Medical Society, member, 
and now President of the District McDowell Society, of the local Medi- 
cal Club, and an extensive correspondent and contributor to various 
medical journals in this country. 

Dr. Dixon was raised in the Presbyterian faith, and some 
time since connected himself with the church. He is a member of 
the Masonic and Knights of Pythias orders, in the former having at- 
tained to the rank of Knights Templar. The first Laparotomy ever 
performed in Henderson was done by him. 

Hon. Henry C. Dixon. — Was born in Henderson on the nine- 
teenth day of September, 1845. He is the second living son of 
Archibald Dixon and Elizabeth Robertson Cabell ; of his father we have 
already written. His mother was a woman noted for her high charac- 
ter, strong intellect and great personal and social charms. She was 
a direct descendant of Pochahontas, and in addition, otherwise inher- 
ited the very best blood known to " Old Virginia." Henry C. Dixon 
received a fine education from the private schools of his native town, 
and was then sent to the Sayre Institute at Frankfort, the Capital of 
the State, a school noted for its educational advantages. 

At this school he enlisted in the front rank, and retained that 
standard up to the time of his leaving it. During the years 1862, '63, 
he was a student of the Toronto, Canada, University, and upon leav- 
ing that school made a trip, in 1864, to Europe, confining his travels to 
England and France. Returning from this trip he studied law in the 
office of his father. Having access at all times to all of the standard 
works, as well as law reports, the benefit of an instructor profoundly 
versed in the practice, a quick keen mind of his own, coupled with 
studious application, our subject was not long in qualifying himself 
for the practice of his chosen profession. Soon after he was licensed, 
his father's health became poor, and the management of his large es- 
tate, in a very great measure, was assigned to our subject. His father 
imposed the greatest confidence in his judgment and legal learning, 
and therefore most, if not all of the numerous legal documents in 
which he was interested, were drawn by the son. From this reason, 
therefore, Henry C. Dixon, has never applied himself to the active 
practice of the law. 



590 HISTORY OF HENDERSON' COUNTY, KY. 

In reii^rious iraming. Mr. Dixon is a Presbvienan. He is also a 
nember of the Masonic and Knights of Pyihias orders. In polirics 
be is an unflinching Democrat, and being well posted in all of the 
great political questions of the day, be is not only able to handle ibe 
questions of the new era in the country's history ^ith marked abilit}- 
and earnestness, but few men by natural endowments or education 
and training, are better able to advocate the peoples interest in the 
Legislative halls of the country, or in the public contests of the times. 
Mr. Dixon is peculiarly endowed with admirable popular traits, but 
lite all men h^s his enemies. He is skilled in the use of sarcasm and 
ridicule. wearwDns that especially ser\-e him whenever the occasion de- 
mands. He is Senator-elect from this, the Third Senatonal District 
of Kentuck} . composed of Henderson and Union Counties, be having 
had the distinction conferred upon him in 1883. He has ser\ed two 
sessions, and in each was a recognized leader. He was found at all 
tiroes battling for the right as he understood it, and in no instance 
was the welfare of his constituents o\erlooked. Mr. Dixon has never 
married, and in his singleness of life, he takes a philisophic view of all 
matters, no matter how small their import. He takes life in. a quiet 
easy way, enjovs himself, and assists many others in doing the veni* 
same thing. He is most comfortably situated, and his domicil is o|>en 
at all times to his friends. This, coupled with his open, frank humor- 
ous, social nature, secures him visitors at all seasons. 

In addition to other landed interests, Mr. Dixon is the owner of 
five hundred acres of river bottom alluvial land, located in Union 
Countv, four hundred of which is cleared and in a hi^h state of culti- 
vation. From this he derives a handsome yearly income. 

Joseph C. Dixon — Fourth son of .Archibald Dixon, was bom in 
the to-vra of Henderson on the twent}--fifth day of December, 1848. 
At an early age he was sent to the best private schools the town 
afforded, and subsequently in 18«>3 and '^ to the Sayer Institute at 
Frankfort, Kentucky. Being bom of a bright, quick mind, he learned 
easily and rapidly — so much so, that he soon prepared himself to 
enter the University of Virginia, where he studied law and fitted 
himself for its practice. Returning to his home, he was licensed tc 
practice, but, owing to bad health and. perhaps, a taste for a life more 
ccmgenial, he has never sought clients or attempted to practice 
a profession he had learned so well. Our subject inherited a 
goodly ponion of his father's quick and fier}- intellect, and, doubtless, 
would have made a leading practitioner had he fancied the life. At 
the death of his father, he inherited a large and verv* valuable landed 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 591 

estate, comprising four hundred and eighty-six acres, four hundred 
and forty-five of which is cleared and in a high state of cultivation. 
Upon this land he farmed until a few years since ; finding that life 
incompatible to both health and comfort, he removed into the city. 
On the fourth day of December, 1874, Mr. Dixon was married to 
Miss Lucie Henderson Alves, granddaughter of James Alves and 
great granddaughter of Walter Alves, one of the signers of the 
ordinance establishing the town ot Henderson. Mrs. Dixon is a lady 
of excellent domestic judgment, very popular and in every way fitted 
to adorn her husband's home. They have had five children, three of 
whom are living : James Alves, Susie Reeve and Maria Davis. Mr. 
Dixon in politics is a strong, uncompromising and unflinching Demo- 
crat, and in excited, hotly contested elections, primary or general, he 
usually makes his influence felt. He is a fine conversationalist and 
earnest worker. He is warm-hearted, honest and sincere in his 
friendship, in fact, no man will go further for a friend. He was 
raised a Presbyterian, but has never attached himself to the church. 

LAZARUS W. POWELL was born in Henderson County on the 
sixth day of October, 1812. His father. Captain. Lazarus W. Powell, 
only a few years previous to the birth of the subject of our memoir, had 
settled on a tract of land lying twelve miles south of Henderson, on the 
Morganfield road, and it may be said continued to reside thereon until 
April, 1869, when at the advanced age of ninety-two years he died. His 
mother was the daughter of Captain James McMahon, of Henderson 
County, a gentleman who had served in the ranks of the Kentucky vol- 
unteers in the War of 181*2. He was a man of strong native intellect, but 
exceedingly eccentric in manner and habits. Though both of the late 
Governor's parents were possessed of average natural talents, neither 
had ever enjoyed the benefits of intellectual culture beyond its simplest 
rudiments. Lazarus was their third son. Lazarus W. Powell at a 
very early age began to exhibit those traits of character which, in their 
fuller development, caused him to be loved and respected wherever 
he was known. When he had arrived at an age to be able to appre- 
ciate the advantages of education, he used diligently the very inade- 
quate means that were within his reach to acquire knowledge. The 
school he first attended was a primary one kept by a Mr. Ewell 
Wilson, in the village of Henderson. Here he learned to read and 
write. Later he became a pupil of the late George Gayle, Esq., a 
gentleman of rare talents and attainments, under whose tuition he ac- 
quired a fair academical education. 



592 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Young Powell was a manly youth, ingenious .md truthful, and not 
a little ambitious. He had scarcely reached the age of eighteen years 
before he had marked out for himself a pathway in life and chosen 
the profession by which he hoped to acquire a moderate competency 
and possibly the other results of a reasonable ambition. He did not 
say — for his aspirations were all civic — 

'• The world's mine oyster, 

" Which I with my sword will open;" 

but with a like spirit that breathes through this immortal sentiment of 
the world's greatest poet, he pursued his course and allowed no 
obstacle to interpose between his will to do and the accomplishment of 
the act he so willed. Few farmers in Kentucky, at the time to which we 
refer (1830), were possessed of any great abundance of ready means, and 
thus it turned out when young Powell was preparing to carry out his 
design of entering upon the study of the law, that his father was only 
enabled to furnish him with a sum of money that was quite insufificient 
to cover the expenses incident to the position he expected to occupy. 
Early in the month of June, 1830, the young man rode over to the 
town of Owensboro, the county seat of the adjoining county of Da- 
viess, for the purpose of consulting with an old legal friend of his 
father, the Hon. Philip Thompson. This gentleman was then 
engaged in a large practice in the circuit presided over by the Hon. 
Alney McLean. Mr. Thompson readily assented to Powell's wish to 
enter his office as a student. He soon discovered, however, that the 
insufficiency of his young friend's educational attainments would be a 
great drawback to his hoped for success in the undertaking upon 
which he had entered, and he urged upon him the necessity of sus- 
pending his legal studies until he could avail himself of the advan- 
tages of a classical education. 

This was a great blow to Powell's hopes. He had the good sense, 
however, to see that the advice that had been given him was the result 
of a kindly interest in his affairs. Returning home, he set about 
revolving in his mind the unlooked for difficulty and the means at his 
disposal for overcoming it. The result of his self-communing was a 
determination to visit Bardstown, then the seat of one of the best literary 
institutions m the State. Having obtained from Mr. Thompson a 
letter of introduction to the Hon. John Rowan, an old friend of the 
writer, he set out for Bardstown, at which place he arrived in the first 
week of September, 1880. His entire riches consisted of the horse 
he rode and less than one hundred dollars in money. He took early 
occasion to present his friend's letter to Judge Rowan, and was by 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 593 

that true gentleman treated with a degree of kindness and interest 
which he ever afterward remembered and spoke of in terms of the 
deepest gratitude. Judge Rtfwan was perhaps the most learned man 
of his profession in the State. In order to test the qualifications of 
the young man for the profession he had chosen, he introduced into 
their conversation certain literary, scientific and historical questions 
which he deemed it important that every one should be acquainted 
with who had any thought of entering upon the study of the law. The 
result was as unsatisfactory in regard to young Powell's scholastic 
attainments as had been his former trial before Mr. Thompson. His 
natural good sense, however, and his evident candor made a most 
favorable impression on the erudite statesman, and again he was 
strongly advised to apply himself to the acquisition of a thorough 
collegiate education. 

With becoming modesty the young man acknowledged to Judge 
Rowan that he had not sufficient means to defray the necessary 
expenses of a college course of studies. Having arrived at the details 
of his present means and future prospects, Judge Rowan gave him 
hopes that the particular difficulty might be overcome. He told him 
that he was well acquainted with the Faculty and Professors of St. 
Joseph's College, and that, having some influence with them, he 
thought it highly probable that he would be able to arrange with them 
for his immolate matriculation and subsequent tuition. 

Early the following morning Judge Rowan accompanied the 
young man to the college where he was formally introduced to the 
President, the late Rev. George A. M. Elder. Mr. Elder was a man 
of the kindest impulses. He was also an excellent judge of character. 
The manly appearance of young Powell, his candor in stating his 
wishes and the inadequate means he possessed toward their realiza- 
tion, together with ^his evident disinclination to accept of unusual 
terms or such as would compromise his own independence, all deeply 
interested the good ecclesiastic. Other members of the Faculty were 
called to the consultation, and, before they separated, the name of 
Lazarus W. Powell was duly entered on the college register. It is 
scarcely necessary to state that every obligation entered into by Mr. 
Powell was afterwards fully redeemed. 

To say that young Powell was what is termed popular with both 
his Professors and his fellow-students, would inadequately express the 
general sentiment with which he was regarded in college. By the 
former he was beloved to a degree that can only be fully understood 

38 



594 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

when reference is made to the bond that exists between parent and child. 
He was the pride of the latter, admired and looked up to as some- 
thing to be made much of and copied after. There was no wayward- 
ness in their feelings toward their idol, because there was no blot upon 
his escutcheon. He was listened to and his advice followed, because 
of their respect for his character and their confidence in his judgment. 
Who can measure the restraining influence of such a mind over the 
weaknesses and latent propensities to evil of less steadfast associates ? 
His young companions learned to respect virtue, principle, assiduity 
and goodness, because of all these their friend was ever the consistent 
exponent. 

Early in August of the year 1833, only a few days after his gradua- 
tion, Mr. Powell entered the law office of the Hon. John Rowan, of 
Bardstown, Kentucky, for the purpose of resuming his legal studies, 
which had been interrupted by his college course. The studious habits, 
which so remarkably distinguished him while passing through college, 
equally characterized him in his new position. He brought all the 
powers of his mind to bear upon the acquirement, within the least 
possible period of time, of that sum of knowledge of his profession 
which would enable him to look forward to an honorable career in 
life. He was happy in having for his legal preceptor one of the 
master minds of his day and the country. Judge Rowan was not only 
a well read lawyer, but he was also a profound scholar and a man of 
the rarest natural intelligence. His diction was always elegant, and 
he spoke without seeming effort. 

Mr. Powell remained in the office of Judge Rowan until in the 
winter of 1834, '35, when he repaired to Lexington with the view of 
attending a course of law lectures at Transylvania University. Not 
only was Powell assiduous in study during his stay in Lexington, and 
prompt in his attendance at the University lectures, but he let no 
occasion pass in which it was possible for him to acquire a 
knowledge of the practical part of his profession by making himself 
familiar with the proceedings of the Courts of Law when these 
happened to be in session. The bar of Lexington had one advantage 
over that of Bardstown — the number of its prominent members was 
much greater. Among the resident practicing attorneys then in 
Lexington could be named such men as the Hon. Henry Clay, the 
Hon. Robert Wickliffe, Judge Thomas M. Hickey, A. K. Woolley, 
Esq., Charlton Hunt, Esq., James Cowan, Esq., and Madison C. 
Johnson, Esq., the latter being then a young man, but giving promise 
of the high reputation in his profession which he has since acquired. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 595 

The law session at Transylvania over, Mr. Powell returned to 
Henderson in the spring of 1835, where he opened a law office and 
sought for business in the line'of his profession. His success equalled 
his expectations from the first, but a few months later, having formed 
a partnership with the leading practitioner at the Henderson bar, 
Archibald Dixon, Esq., he was at once placed on the high road to 
that eminence as a lawyer which he afterwards attained, as well as to 
the substantial remunerative benefits of an extended practice. His 
business connection with Mr. Dixon continued till the year 1839. 

Governor Powell's reputation as a lawyer was not built upon any 
peculiar talent possessed by him for forensic display. In his 
addresses, to be sure, whether to the court or to the jury, he was 
always forcible and sometimes eloquent. But he depended more for 
his legal triumphs upon the careful analysis of his cases. It was his 
invariable custom to come into court fully prepared to meet the 
objections of the opposing counsel with his authoritities before him, 
whether as to the law bearing upon the case or to previous judicial 
decisions. Owing to this custom, he was always a formidable antag- 
onist in the courts in which he practiced. What he lacked in readi- 
ness of suggestion, had its full compensation in the preliminary care 
in which he never failed to bestow upon each particular cause as it 
came into his hands. His wonderful success in his profession is more 
to be attributed to this fact than to any other. 

On the eighth day of November, 1837, Lazarus W. Powell was 
united in marriage to Miss Harriett Ann Jennings, the orphan daughter 
of Captain Charles Jennings, deceased, who had been an esteemed 
and prosperous citizen of Henderson County. During her life, Mrs. 
Powell bore to her husband three sons, two of whom are still living. 
The death of Mrs. Powell took place on the thirtieth day of July, 
1846, and, to use the expression of one of the late Governor's 
eulogists, "for her sake he ever afterwards devoted to the children 
she had left to his care, all the wealth of his manly and magnanimous 
heart." 

When not occupied by official duties, during the progress of the 
civil war. Governor Powell spent most of his time at his home in 
Henderson and in overlooking the farming operations upon his 
plantations in the county. This was for him, as it was for thousands 
of others in the State, a period of great anxiety — suspected by the 
government military officials, who had, for the greater portion of the 
time, complete control in the river towns, on account of his well 
known antipathy to the bloody method that had been adopted to 



596 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

jDreserve the integrity of the Union ; saddened at the sight of the utter 
ruin which the war had brought upon many of his neighbors, and which 
was threatening others ; disgusted with the cruelties of the vengeful 
military despots who were then ruling Kentucky, and whose so-called 
retaliatory measures were continually involving the lives and 
liberties of innocent men ; indignant at the shameful venality of some 
among these same despots and their pliant subordinates, and at their 
contemptuous disregard of even the forms of State laws in taking upon 
themselves all control over the elective franchise. Go\ernor Powell, 
no doubt, felt these years of the war to be the saddest of his life. 

Always circumspect in his conduct and for one of his known views, 
in a certain degree trusted in by the authorities at Washington, he 
was enabled to serve many who had become involved in the troubles 
of the times, not only in his own section, but throughout the South, and 
never was his influence asked for in vain by a worthy object. His 
means, too, were dispensed with a lavish hand to those who found them- 
selves reduced to poverty by the military raids which were of common 
occurrence in his own and the neighboring counties of Southern Ken- 
tucky. Whether the sufferer happened to be attached to one cause 
or the other, it was all the same with him. Human misery was a plea 
that never failed to awaken in him active sympathy, and with this plea 
he never permitted consideration of party affinity nor even of policy 
to interfere. 

When the war finally closed. Governor Powell entered upon the 
practice of his profession with more energy than had ever before dis- 
tinguished him, save during the first years of his professional career. 
This was most probably done with the view of introducing his eldest 
son Col. J. Henry Powell, who had then become associated with him 
in the practice of the law, into the routine of his profession. Up to 
the time of his mission to Utah, in 1858, he had been a great sufferer 
from a rheumatic affection, and though he had since been apparently 
entirely relieved from the disorder, his nervous system, in conse- 
quence of its ravages, as he thought himself, had remained afterwards 
in an exceedingly delicate condition. Seeing him immersed in busi- 
ness, and to all appearance as anxious in its prosecution as he had 
been when starting out in life thirty years before, there were those 
among his friends who doubted if his physical strength was equal to 
the labor he was imposing on himself. On Wednesday of the last 
week in June, 1867, he appeared for the last time in the streets of 
Henderson a living man. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 597 

After a day of some fatigue, induced possibly more from the 
shattered condition of his nerves than from anv great amount of phy 
sical or mental labor, he returned to his house and immediately re- 
tired to his room. Nothing wis thought of this circumstance until the 
following morning when he was found to be seriouslv ill. The family 
physician, Dr. Pinkney Thompson, was at once called in. l^he report 
made by this gentleman was sufficiently alarming, but neither did he 
nor the members of the Govornor's family at first apprehend a fatal 
termination of his sickness. It was at first supposed that his disease 
was a slight attack of congestion of the brain. A subsequent examina- 
tion proved that a blood vessel at the base of the brain had become 
ruptured and that this had induced apoplexy, followed by a partial 
paralysis of the right side, and eventually of the whole body. During 
Thursday and Friday he was enabled to distinguish his 'friends as 
they approached his bedside. His physician called to his assistance 
Dr. John T. Berry, of Henderson, and Dr. M. J, Brav, of Evansville, 
Ind. Their consultation took place on Saturday, and' the result was J 
sorrowful acknowledgement that the case was hopeless. 

When this opinion was made known among the Governor's neigh- 
bors and fellow citizens, the effect was as if an impending calamky 
were threatening their own hearth-stones. Business appeared to be 
forgotten, and men and women gathered together in knots, brooding 
sadly and speaking in whispers of the one absorbing topic which filled 
their thoughts. In the meanwhile the Governor lav in a comatose 
state, from which it was difficult to arouse him at intervals, in order 
to administer such alleviatives as had been prescribed by his physi- 
cians. On Sunday, the last day of the month, his friend and neigh- 
bor, Grant Green Esq., made a persistent attempt to arouse him from 
the stupor by which he was overcome and with such success, that faint 
hopes were induced of his ultimate recovery. On the following morn- 
ing, however, he again relapsed into unconsciousness and thus con- 
tinued till death intervened about 3 o'clock in the evening of July 3d., 
1867. Greater sympathy was never manifested by a community for 
one of its number when stricken, ill and dying, nor were ever sincerer 
tears shed than when it was announced among his friends and neigh-^ 
bors that his "spirit had gone to the God who gave it." 

The funeral took place on Thursday, the fourth day of July, 1867. 

Among the pall-bearers were the Hon. Archibald Dixon, the' Hon. 

John Ivaw, of Indiana; Grant Green, Esq., and W. S. Holloway, Esq.' 

The body was borne to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, of which his 

brother-in-law, the Rev. D. H. Deacon, was Rector, ii^very business 



598 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

house and office in the town was closed and almost all were draped in 
emblems of mourning. The Rev. Rector of the church was too much 
overcome to trust himself to speak on the occasion, and his place in 
the pulpit was supplied by the Rev. Jahleel Woodbridge, Pastor of 
the Presbyterian Church, of Henderson. The text of the discourse 
preached by the reverend gentleman, was taken from the 46th. Chap- 
ter of Psalms: ^'- Be still and know that I am Godr On the announce- 
ment of the text, a solemn silence seemed to wrap the entire auditory, 
and this till the close of the discourse, was only broken at intervals 
by the stifled sobs and smothered sighs of stricken hearts, as the elo- 
quent divine glowingly pictured the exalted character of him whose 
cold remains lay coffined before them. 

The Masonic body of Henderson, although Governor Powell had 
never belonged to the order, formed in procession and accompanied 
his remains to the grave. The procession of citizens on the occasion 
was the largfest ever seen in Henderson. In it walked the rich and 
the poor, women and men, and even little children. One division of 
the mourners deserves to be specially noticed. This was composed 
of the newly-created freedmen, his own former slaves and those of his 
neighbors who had known him, many of them all their lives. They 
had come, some of them from points ten and fifteen miles distant, 
trudging on foot in order to pay their tribute of respect and gratitude 
over the arave of one who had never ceased to be their best friend 
and counselor. No more, genuine sorrow was exhibited on that mourn- 
ful day than was evinced by the blacks of whom he had once been the 
master, and who up to the day of his death had been in the habit of 
addressing him by that title. 

During the latter years of his life, the Governor seldom spent his 
evenings away from his own home. When he had no visitors he was 
in the habit of retiring to his room for study, or in order to prepare 
the causes in which he had been retained. When wearied with these 
occupations, he would repair to the apartments of his daughter-in-law, 
and there amuse himself with the prattle of his little grand-children. 
His family mansion was surrounded by ornamental grounds and a 
large garden. To the embellishment of these grounds, he devoted 
many of his leisure hours, and found in such employment both health 
and enjoyment. 

One great source of care to Governor Powell, after the Procla- 
mation of Emancipation of President Lincoln, was a number of help- 
less blacks, formerly his slaves, who had no one else to look to for 
support and protection. Had the Government, when it deprived him 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 599 

of his rights of property in those of his slaves, who were capable of 
performing manual labor, taken upon itself, at the same time, the 
support of those who were incompetent to earn their own living, there 
would have been little hardship in his individual case, as there would 
have been little in thousands of other cases, still more onerous. He 
might, to be sure, had he been a brute, and no man, have evicted the 
aged and infants among his former slaves from his plantations, and 
have suffered them to die of hunger and exposure on the highway. ^ 
Had the war bereft him of all his property, as it did hundreds of 
slave owners in the South, even his well known humanity could not 
have stood between these poor creatures and destruction. As it was, 
he never thought of them otherwise than as dependents on his bounty, 
whom it was his duty to serve and protect. Up to the day of his 
death they were fed and clothed at his expense, and they are ^ill 
cared for at the expense of his heirs. Had the unmistakable tokens 
of profound sorrow that characterized that portion of the mourners 
at Governor Powell's funeral, which was composed of his former * 
slaves, been witnessed by those whose fanaticism brought on the late 
war and all its horrors, they might well have stood in astonishment at 
a sight so foreign to all their notions of the relations that often ex- 
isted between master and slave. 

Governor Powell, though he never professed any particular form 
of Christian faith, was unquestionably a firm believer in the truths of 
Divine Revelation. Many expressions are to be found in his 
speeches which show that he was familiar with the Bible, and had for 
that Sacred Book the most profound reverence There was no one 
in the community in which he lived that was more liberal of his 
means for objects connected with religion. He appeared to have no 
preference for one denomination over another, but gave to all with a 
large-hearted liberality that was at once the evidence of his regard 
for religion in general, and of his esteem for those whose vocation it 
was to preach the Gospel. His house was as free to all ministers of 
religion, without exception as to creed, who happened to be tempo- 
rarily sojourning in the town, as it was to himself. On one occasion, 
which has come to our knowledge, he spoke seriously of religion and 
of his regret that he had not identified himself, in profession, with 
the followers of Christ. Conversing with a Christian neighbor, he 
remarked that he had long desired to make himself better acquainted 
than he was with the peculiar doctrines of the various Christian 
churches, and that it was his intention to enter upon this study with 
the view to the profession of that form of faith which should com- 
mend itself to his more enlightened judgment. 



600 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

It is said, bv some, that Governor Powell never exhibited anv 
evidence of extraordinary genius. This may be true, though there 
are abundant reasons to doubt it. The placidity of his mind was 
such as to foil observers in their attempts to detect the riches con- 
cealed in its depths. Of the erratic ingenius he was certainly totally 
void. But even admitting that he gave to the world no extraordinary 
exhibition of genius, it must be allowed that he gave to it what are 
ordinarily of much more value — exhibitions of determination in the 
assertion and defense of principles that were directly conservative of 
the best interests of society and government —exhibitions of modera- 
tion and prudence in the performance of duty when called to the dis- 
charge of high functions in the State, and in the hour of defeat, or of 
failure, of unshaken confidence in the ultimate triumph of his own 
arrd his party's patriotic purposes for the welfare of the nation. He 
was no coward, and he never mistook present failure for final defeat. 
In the darkest hours of the Republic he never lost hope, never re- 
linquished his right to appeal to the reason of those who were permit- 
ting their passions and their prejudices to sway their judgments and 
to control their policy. He gave utterance to the convictions of his 
mind, temperately, yet firmly, and never in language calculated to 
alienate the respect of his opponents. However they may have 
doubled, or pretended to doubt, the correctness of his views, they 
were convinced of his candor, and did homage to his manhood. 

Governor Powell well understood what few public men have 
seemed to learn, that every truly beneficial measure, every wholesome 
reform in government, is to be secured and permanently retained only 
through efforts that have for their animus the general good, and not 
that of a section of the country, or a party among the people. He 
may have been said to be a partisan, in so far as he had definite no- 
tions in regard to the structure of the government, and the proper 
policy to be pursued in order to promote the prosperity of the coun- 
try and the happiness of the people, but he was no partisan in the 
general acceptation of the term. He never deferred principle to 
party, or the good of the masses to party success. Above all, he 
could, and did, distinguish between the individual and his party pre- 
dilections and never alienated the respect of the former by bitter de- 
nunciation of the latter. 

Courtesy, whether in speaking to, or about, his political oppo- 
nents, was a habit of his mind, and this habit, except under the prov- 
ocation of unmistakable insult, he carried with him through life. A 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 601 

distinguished gentleman, occupying a high position at Washington, 
thus wrote : 

" In Washington City, Democrats and Radicals spoke of him as a friend 
whose loss they deplore. No ma^vvas ever able to hate Powell long. Seve- 
ral undertook it, but he outlived their resentment, and at the date of his death 
he probat)ly had not an enemy on earth." 

What a noble eulogy is this ! It tells us, by implication, that he 
had a just perception of what was due to others and what was due to 
himself. It tells us, also, that he possessed a mind that was capable 
of rising above those paltry passions, which are with the majority of 
men so difficult of restraint, in the hearing of false representations of 
facts and motives of coarse invectives or tantalizing inuendoes coming 
from one's political or personal foes. It tells us, further, that he pos- 
sessed a heart that was all alive to those humane amenities that are 
resistless to propitiate good will and to curb dissension. 

HIS PUBLIC LIFE. 

In July, 1836, at the earnest solicitation of a number of his po- 
litical friends, Mr. Powell announced himself as the Democratic can- 
didate for the ofifice of Representative of the County in the Lower 
House of the Kentucky Legislature. The Whig party was largely in 
the ascendancy in Henderson at the time, and it was more for the 
object of keeping up their organization, than with any expectation of 
success, that the party in the minority proposed to place a candidate 
in the field, Mr. Powell's Whig competitor for the the place was 
John G. Holloway, Esq., a very estimable and popular citizen of Hen- 
derson. While the former industriously canvassed every precinct 
and neighborhood of the county, making friends and securing votes 
everywhere, the latter, relying upon the party bias of his proposed 
constituency, made liitle or no exertion to win their confidence, and 
thus he lost his election. The result was as unlooked for, by both 
parties, as it was highly honorable to the industry, and address of the 
successful candidate. 

During the session of the General Assembly, which followed his 
election Mr. Powell proved himself a careful legislator. He was es- 
pecially attentive to his duties as a member of the various committees 
upon which he had been placed, and was always alive to the interests 
of his constituency and those of the entire State. At the next gene- 
ral election he was again a candidate for the ofifice which he had so 
creditably filled for two years. Whether it was, that by this time, 
party lines had been more closely drawn, or that his old competitor 
had learned from his former experience to depend more for success 



602 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

upon his personal exertions in the canvass, than upon the party pre- 
dilections of the people of the county, certain it is, that Mr. Hol- 
loway beat him in the race by a considerable majority. 

In the Presidential canvass of 1844, Mr. Powell accepted from 
his party the position of District Elector, and canvassed his own and 
the neighboring districts for James K. Polk. In this canvass he was 
brought prominently before the people of Western Kentucky, and thus 
far, he laid the foundation of that personal popularity which afterwards 
enabled him to serve his party in more important positions. Mr. Polk 
was elected over his competitor, the Hon. Henry Clay ; but the Demo- 
crats were defeated in Kentucky. 

In the spring of 1848, the State Democratic Convention met at 
Frankfort for the purpose of nominating candidates for the executive 
offices of the commonwealth, to be voted for at the coming August 
election. The choice of the convention fell upon the Hon. Linn 
Bovd, of McCracken County, for Governor, and the Hon. John P. 
Martin, of Floyd County, for Lieutenant Governor. Before the dis- 
solution of the convention, authority was given to the Democratic 
Central Committee of the State to fill all vacancies, if any, that should 
occur on the ticket proposed by declination or otherwise. Upon 
being informed as to the action of the Convention, Mr. Boyd, in a 
letter addressed to the Chairman of the State Central Committee — 
the Hon. James Guthrie — formerly declined the candidateship which 
his party friends had proposed ; and it thus became necessary to put 
forward some one in his stead. A meeting of the committee was 
held a few days subsequently, and the name of Lazarus W. Powell 
was placed at the head of the ticket. This result, it is said, was 
mainly due to the influence of Mr. Guthrie, whose sound, practical 
views of the situation, and whose clear perception of the character 
and qualifications of the gentlemen whose names had been mentioned 
in connection with the candidateship, were never more forcibly illus- 
trated than on this occasion. 

The Whig party in Kentucky had nominated as its candidate for 
Governor, the Hon. John J. Crittenden, who was then a member of 
the United States Senate from Kentucky, and undoubtedly one of the 
most deservedly popular men in the State. At the outset of the can- 
vass, Mr. Powell was encountered by a feud in his own party. The 
Hon. Richard M. Johnson, of Scott County, had announced himself 
an independent Democratic candidate for the ofiice of Gover-nor, and 
had already entered upon the canvass. Perceiving that success 
would be out of the question with two Democratic candidates in the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 603 

field, Mr. Powell hastened to the home of his old friend, with whom 
he sought and obtained an interview, the result of which was entirely 
satisfactory to both parties. Col. Johnson not only declined to prose- 
cute the race any further, butjexpressed his readiness to canvass his 
own district in behalf of the nominee of the convention. 

The energy with which the Gubernational canvass of 1848, was 
prosecuted in Kentucky by both Whigs and Democrats, was strongly 
indicative of the fears of the party in the majority, on account of the 
personal popularity of the opposition candidate, and of the hopes 
raised in the minds of the Democratic minority, by having for its 
standard bearer one who was known never to have addressed his 
fellow citizens without having made additions to the number of his 
friends. The beginning of the decadence of the Whig party in Ken- 
tucky may be referred to this memorable canvass. Everywhere the 
zeal of its advocates abated and defections from its ranks were 
numerous. Mr. Powell threw himself into the arena of political 
controversy with an energy that was resistless. Every part of the 
State was thoroughly canvassed, and eveiy effort of the opposition 
was encountered and resisted. The canvass was a substantial triumph, 
though it ended in the defeat of the constitutional party. The seed 
had been sown which was to spring forth, richly ladened whh fruit for 
the coming harvest. 

In 1852, the claims of Mr. Powell were fully recognized by the 
nominating convention of the Democracy of the State. He was again 
put forward by that Convention as its candidate for the office of Gover- 
nor of the Commonwealth. There were peculiar circumstances con 
nected with the canvass of this year that rendered it in the highest 
degree extraordinary. Mr. Powell's Whig competitor in the race, was 
the Hon. Archibald Dixon, a resident of the same town— his life-long 
personal friend, and at one time his partner in the practice of law. 
For not one moment whether before, during, or after the canvass, 
were the intimate personal relations between the two interrupted. 
They traveled together, spoke together, put up at the same houses, 
and had their meals at the same table, and, except when brought into 
contact in the exposition of their dissimilar political dogmas, they 
exhibited toward each other and before the public, a cordiality of de- 
meanor that is as rarely witnessed between political antagonists, as it 
was pleasant to contemplate. 

It was in this canvass, most likely, that Governor Powell learned 
that perfection of self-control by which he was afterwards so greatly 
distinguished in the Senate of the United States. Both candidates 



604 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

had an all-sufficient motive in their personal friendship — to shun dis- 
plays of temper. Courtesy thus became a habit of their minds, and 
its influence lived long beyond the occasion that called it into activity. 
Mr. Powell secured his election by a small majority, while Robert N. 
Wickliffe, Esq., the candidate on the same ticket for the office of 
Lieutenant Governor, was beaten several thousand votes by his 
opponent, the Hon. John B. Thompson. Lazarus W. Powell was 
inaugurated Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on the 
morning of September 5th, 1851. Accompanied by an escort, com- 
prised of three military companies of the city, and a large number of 
prominent citizens, he left Louisville early on the morning of the diy 
named, and reached Frankfort before ten o'clock. At the Frank- 
fort depot, he was met by a large concourse of citizens and strangers, 
and, entering a carriage in waiting, with the Lieutenant Governor 
elect, the Hon. John B. Thompson, he was driven to the State House 
building, when he was formally welcomed to the seat of his future 
magisterial labors in a congratulatory address by the Hon. Judge 
Hewitt. The Gov^ernor- elect, having been introduced to the 
assembled multitude by the retiring Governor, the Hon. John L. 
Helm, replied briefly and appropriately to the address of Judge 
Hewitt and returned his thanks for the confidence reposed in him by 
the people.* He expressed his distrust of his ability to discharge 
properly the duties of the office to which he had been elevated, but 
declared his determination to use such powers as he possessed for the 
maintenance of good government. He would administer the govern- 
ment to the best of his ability, in accordance with the constitution 
and laws, and in the interests of the whole people of the State. The 
oath of office was administered by Judge Shannon. 

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth met on the third day 
of November, 1851, and, on the following day, the first message of 
Governor Powell was presented to and read before that body. The 
local issues and interests discussed in that document need not be 
here referred to. 

During the entire term of Governor Powell's chief magistracy, 

his official duties were discharged with the most commendable fidelity 

and exactness. For the greater part of his term of office, the General 

Assembly of the State had in it a majority of Whigs, yet at no time 

did his relations with that body assume a partisan character. The 
most exacting among his political opponents were obliged to acknowl- 
edge that his entire policy was conceived and carried out with due 
reference to his responsibility to the whole body of the people and 
the best interests of the State. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 605 

In the spring of 1858, through the intervention of Thomas L. 
Kane, Esq., of Pennsylvania, President Buchanan was induced to 
dispatch a commission to Utah with the hope of arresting the 
rebellion that had broken out in that Territory. The Commissioners 
named were Governor Powell, of Kentucky, and Major Ben McCul- 
lough, of Texas. On the arrival of these gentlemen at the camp of 
the military expedition, they immediately issued the proclamation of 
the President, offering pardon to all Mormons who should submit to 
the Federal authority. This offer was accepted by the heads of the 
Mormon church, and all trouble was arrested. 

At the session of the General Assembly, which took place in 
1859, Governor Powell was elected to the Senate of the United States 
for the full term of six years. Without extending this sketch to too 
great length, we find it impracticable to give the reader more than a 
general outline of Governor Powell's course while a member of the 
Senate. His speeches to that body would of themselves fill a large 
volume, and these are all to be found in the published reports of the 
congressional proceedings of the period. He entered the Senate at a 
time of great political excitement. A party had arisen in the country 
and was daily growing stron2:er, which had, for its main idea, the ex- 
tinction of slavery as a national institution, or as one recognized in 
the fundamental law of the land. By the governments of several of 
the Northern States, the fugitive slave law had been openly pro- 
claimed a measure which required from them no obedience. The 
Southern States, disgusted at what they conceived to be want of 
faith on the part of their Northern associates, and seeing, from the 
complexion of the Legislation of the country, that they would soon be 
powerless to protect their constitutional rights against the require- 
ments of a constantly increasing majority in the National Legislature, 
already were contemplating secession. In both houses of Congress, 
fanaticism ruled one part of the people's representatives, and, with 
but few exceptions, passion the remainder. 

Few of our public men possessed a clearer understanding of the 
causes that led to the late conflict than Governor Powell. In a speech 
on the '* Bill Giving Freedom to the Families of Negro Soldiers," 
delivered in the Senate on the ninth day of January, 1863, Mr. Powell 
remarked : " Some call this a war for the negro, but, in my opinion, 
those who look upon African slavery as the cause of the war are 
greatly mistaken. This war was not designed by the large slave holders 
of the South ; they did not want the war. It is not war of the negro ; 
it is not a war of tariffs ; it is not a war of any particular line of 



606 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

policy, but it is a war of politicians who were faithless to their con- 
stitutional obligations, and there the responsibility will be placed by 
the philosophical historian in all after time. If I were to describe it 
in a sentence. I should say that it was a war of the politicians, both 
North and South — a war of ambitious, fanatical zealots, and they 
existed North as well as South. I speak of a class of politicians who 
are faithless to their oaths of office, and who claim to be governed by 
a law higher than and above the Constitution." 

HON. GRANT GREEN was born in Henderson County on the 
third day of February, 1826. His ancestors immigrated from Eng- 
land and settled in Fauquier County, Virginia, in the year 1640. His 
grandfather raised a large family of children, many of whom held dis- 
tinguished positions in the country's service. All of the male mem- 
bers, old enough at the time, joined the army of the revolution and 
fought for American Independence with distinguished credit to them- 
selves and their country. His grandfather came to Kentucky with his 
family about the year 1815, and settled in this county. Mr. Green's 
mother was Martha Dixon, the daughter of Captain Henry Dixon, whose 
father was a Colonel in the Revolutionary War. She was born in Cas- 
well County in the year 1804, and brought by her father to Henderson 
County in 1805. Mr. Green and Miss Dixon were married in 1820, 
and after nine years of happy wedded life he died, leaving to the care 
of his widow four children, of whom, the subject of this sketch was 
the second son. Falling heir to but little realty, and a scanty allow- 
ance of actual cash, Mrs. Green was necessarily greatly embarassed ; 
yet, with superhuman endurance and self-denial, she most nobly met 
her allotted life, sacrificing all the pleasures thereof that her four 
children might be properly raised to a position in the social and busi. 
ness world, her devoted interest so justly claimed for them. She 
managed to give them such an education as was afforded at that time 
by county schools, and this, coupled with her own great and good ex 
ample, sufficed to impress upon them the importance of determined 
effort. The subject of this sketch commenced business life by teach- 
ing a small country school — the same in which he had only a short 
time previous been a student — among whose pupils were numbered 
many of his old classmates equally of age with himself. He was a very 
successful teacher, giving more satisfaction perhaps to his patrons 
than his modesty allowed him to claim for himself. After teaching 
about one year and a half he reluctantly gave up his school to accept 
the position of deputy sheriff under his uncle, William Green, who 
was made Sheriff of the county in 1848. He rode deputy sheriff for two 




HON. GRANT G-REEN. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 607 

years, at the end of which time he was tendered a deputyship under 
WilUam D. Allison, at that time Clerk of both the Circuit and County 
Courts, and Trustee of the Jury" Fund. In Mr. Allison he found a 
fast friend, and his life with him was one continued sunshine. He 
appreciated his great worth and influence, and is no doubt more in- 
debted to his training and general knowledge gained while in the 
office, for his success in life, than to all other sources combined. In 
1851, Mr. Green's personal popularity gained for him the Democratic 
nomination for Representative of this county. Inflexible in his 
political opinions, he was yet averse to taking an active part in 
politics, and only after much persuasion accepted the nomination thus 
tendered him. The issue that year was fought by Governor Powell, 
the Democratic nominee for Governor, and Governor Archibald 
Dixon, a cousin of Mr. Green and the Whig nominee for the same 
office, and both of Henderson County. These were two of the most 
distinguished men of the State, and, of course, the contest was made 
warm throughout the entire Commonwealth, and particularly so in this 
county. Mr. Green was elected by a respectable majority, and took 
his seat at the beginning of the session of 1851-'*52. This was the 
second session of the General Assembly after the adoption of the 
present Constitution, and as the laws then in existence had to be 
modified and new laws enacted in conformity to the terms of the new 
Constitution, the work necessarily required the keenest foresight 
and unrestrained wisdom of the members. This Legislature was one 
of the'ablest the State had ever had, and did its work in a most super- 
ior and satisfactory manner. After the adjournment of the Legisla- 
ture, and on the twenty-sixth day of February, 1852, our subject was 
appointed Secretary of State by Governor Powell, and served in that 
capacity until the expiration of the Governor's term of office, Septem- 
ber 3d, 1855. During this time he was a member of the Democratic 
State Central Committee. In 1855 he received the Democratic nom. 
ination for the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, but this 
was the year the " Know Nothing" party swept the State and the 
entire Democratic ticket, after a most gallant fight, was defeated. On 
the twenty-eighth day of February, 1855, Mr. Green was united in 
marriage with Miss Katie S. Overton, a most accomplished lady, and 
at the expiration of his term of office as Secretary of State, returned 
to Henderson, commenced the practice of law in partnership with the 
Hon. H. F. Turner, and continued to practice until the summer of 
1858, when he was elected County Judge. In the year 1859 he 
received the Democratic nomination for the office of Auditor of 



608 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Public Accounts, and at the August election was declared elected by 
a handsome majority. He then resigned the office of County Judge* 
returned to Frankfort, and on the first day of January 1860, entered 
upon the duties of his new and most important office, and served the 
State with most commendable fidelity and zeal for four years. Dur- 
ino- the trvinjr times of the war, he manao:ed the State's finances, so 
far as the same was to be controlled through his official position, with 
eminent ability, giving entire satisfaction to all parties. At the expir- 
ation of his term of office, and at his request, the Legislature appointed 
a Committee whose duty it was to give his office a thorough examina- 
tion. This was done and a very complimentary report returned. 
He was re-nominated for a second term, and notwithstanding the in- 
terference of Federal troops in many of the counties of the State, he 
was defeated by a comparatively small vote. He then returned to 
Henderson in 1864, and engaged in the tobacco business for two 
vears. At the expiration of that time, n co-partnership was formed 
bv and between himself, W. J. Marshall and Edward Atkinson, under 
the firm name of Green, Marshall & Co., and engaged in the general 
banking business. He continued in this tirm until May, 1868, when 
he received the appointment as cashier of the Farmers' Bank (mother 
bank) of Kentucky, at Frankfort, and returned again to that city, and is 
to-day filling the same position. The stock of the bank when he was 
elected Cashier was w^orth only eighty-three cents on the dollar. At 
this time 122 has been offered and refused. The bank to-day stands 
in credit among the very best of the leading banks of the country. 

Mr. Green, many years ago, united with the Episcopal Church, 
and has proven a faithful, consistent member, always ready with his 
good advice and purse to advance its interests. His life has been a 
brilliant one, alternating between Henderson and Frankfort, his 
present home. His promptness in brusiness, his integrity in action, 
and his clear judgment have been, and are yet, shining traits in his 
character, and by these has he been actuated throughout his entire 
business and social life. 

CAPTAIN HENRY DIXON, better known as Capt. Hal., was 
born in Caswell County, North Carolina, in the year 1777, during the 
Revolutionary troubles. His grandfather, Henry Dixon, was a distin- 
guished Colonel in the Revolutionary War, and was killed at the battle 
of Eutaw Springs. He was also highly complimented for gallantry 
at the battle of Camden. Captain Dixon was a brother of Wynn 
Dixon, father of Governor Archibald Dixon. He immigrated to Ken- 
tucky in 1808 and settled upon the land now owned by Joshua Staples. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 609 

Subsequent to that he purchased the farm now owned by Thomas 
Buckman, lying on the Madisonville road, and built the house that is 
yet used as a residence by Mr^Buckman. In 1853 he sold his farm 
and removed to Union County, settling at the Sulphur Springs. In 
November, 1858, he died. Captain Dixon was a remarkable man, 
large, muscular and weighing ordinarily from two hundred and twenty- 
five to two hundred and fifty pounds. He was a man of indomitable 
will and absolutely fearless. He was an industrious worker, ever active 
in attending to business matters. He was never much of a politician, 
yet he possessed unbounded influence and was a power when he chose 
to exercise it. He was an unflinching Jackson Democrat and took 
an active interest in his race against Henry Clay. He was elected 
and served one term in the Kentucky Legislature, and in this connec- 
tion several good stories are told. It is said that when the Captain 
approached the polls to cast his vote and the usual question, " How do 
you vote ? " had been asked him, he good humoredly, yet positively, re- 
plied, ''I like Captain Dixon better than I do the other feller, so put 
me down for Dixon." It is a traditionary statement that up to that 
time the vote between the Captain and his opponent was a tie, and 
that the Captain voting for himself decided the election. Again 
another good story is told of him while a member of the Legislature. 
It is said that he was no speaker, and for a man of his courage and 
good sense was remarkably timid upon such occasions, even though 
he knew every man in the house. 

The Legislature was in session, and the Captain in his seat. He 
desired to introduce a bill and to preface it by a few remarks. When 
he arose, he imagined that one or two of the members offered him an 
indignity and bringing himself to the full extent of his majestic 
proportions and forgetting what he had arisen for, he addressed the 
speaker in the following laconic language: " Mr. Speaker, I am no 
speaker, but sir, I can whip any infernal scoundrel in this house who 
dare insult me." 

This raised a breeze and the Captain took his seat, never again 
to be intentionally or humorously joked. 

Captain- Dixon was twice married. His first wife was Miss Mary 
Johnston, of Virginia; his second wife Mrs. John Talbot, of Henderson 
County. Twelve children resulted from his first marriage, to-wit: 
Roger, Martha, Henry, Mary, EHza^ John, Robert, Niel, Susan, 
George, Judith and Francis. 



39 



610 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Roger married Miss Elizabeth Brown, who after his death mar- 
ried Tiiomas P. Lambert. They had one child. 

Martha married John Green, father of Hon. Grant Green, and 
had four children, Henry, Grant, John and Mary Ann. Henry mar- 
ried Miss Lambert, of Arkansas, and died leaving children ; Grant 
married Miss Katie S. Overton, of Virginia, and has quite a family of 
bright, promising children ; John married Miss Randolph, of Hender- 
son County, and has several children ; Mary Ann married Theodore 
Hall ; she died leaving three children. 

Henry married Miss Ann Mariah Ashby and had two children, 
John E. and Mary; John married Miss Mary Sugg and they have 
children ; Mary married George W. McClure and they have three 
children. 

Mary married Gabriel Grant Green, by whom she had three 
children, Henry Dixon, Gabriel and Ann. Subsequent to Mr. Green's 
death, she married Dr. A. H. Bailey, by whom she had three children, 
Cornelius, John, and Eliza, who married Hon. C. C. Ball, Mayor of 
the City of Henderson. 

Eliza married William Posey, by whom she had thirteen children, 
Reuben, Mary, Thomas, Lucy, Henry, John, Eliza, William, George, 
Robert, Addison, Sallie and one other whose name is unknown to the 
writer. 

Reuben studied law, practiced his profession for a number of 
years in Louisiana, and for many years last passed has held the office 
of Circuit Judge in one of the parishes of that State. He has been 
twice married, first to Miss Kavanaugh and second to Miss Russell, 
of Texas ; he has children. Mary married John N. Lyle and re- 
moved to Louisiana, they have several children ; Thomas married 
Miss Augusta Alves, died a few years afterwards, leaving two or three 
children ; Lucy married William J. Marshall and has a large family 
of children ; Henry married Miss Emma Butler and has several 
children ; John married Miss Sarah Taylor and has several children ; 
Eliza married Cornelius Bailey and has children ; William married 
Miss Addie Alves and has children; Addison is a leading physician 
in San Francisco, California ; he recently married a lady of that State. 
Sallie, married twice, first, Dr. Ross and again Dr. Doyle, of Madison- 
ville. Thomas, Sallie, George and Robert are dead. 

John married Miss Sarah E. Powell, of Henderson County, by 
whom he had eleven children, Charles, Henry, Thomas, John, George, 
Mary, Joseph, Simmeon, Robert, Roger and Thomas. Of this num- 
ber, Charles, Thomas, George, Robert and Roger are dead ; Henry 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 611 

married Miss Mary Ellen Grayson, John married Miss Amanda 
Watson, George married Miss Julia Taylor, Mary married twice, 
first Weston Anderson, second William E. Powell ; Joseph married 
Miss Blanch Pennell, Simmeon married Miss Harriet Arvin. They 
all have children. 

Robert married Miss Mary Ann Clay, a distant relative of Henry 
Clay, by whom he had seven children, Ann Eliza, Henry, Mary, 
Amelia, Robert, Georgiana and Sallie ; Ann Eliza married Hon. S. 
B. Vance, of Evansville, and has several children; Amelia married 
William Payne, and died a few years afterwards without issue ; Mary 
married Andrew Clark and has one daughter, Mrs. T. W. Buckner ? 
Robert married Miss Alice Young and has quite a family of children ; 
Georgiana married Thomas Posey and has three children ; Sallie is 
yet unmarried ; Henry died when young. • 

Cornelius married Miss Isabella Clay and had eleven children, 
Roger, Betty, Henrietta Charles, Susan, Henry, Robert, Wynn, Belle, 
Clay and Mary. Bettie, Charles and Belle are dead; Roger has been 
three times married, first, Miss Todd Butler, of Henderson; second, 
Miss Mary Singer, of Evansville ; third. Miss Carrie Dike, of Posey 
County, Indiana. First two wives died soon after marriage. He has 
several children by his last wife. Henrietta married Caleb F. Ruggles 
and has children ; Susan married Rich Posey and has children ; Henry, 
a practicing physician in Evansville, married Miss Amelia Wilson, of 
Louisville ; Robert married Miss Rosa Green, of Henderson, and has 
two children ; Wynn married Miss Mattie Randolph, of Henderson, 
and has two children ; Clay married Miss Mattie Wilson, of Louisville, 
no children; Mary married John J. Towles, she has no cl:tfldren. 

Susan married Col. William P. Grayson and had five children, 
namely, Mary Ellen, Sophy, Susan, Hebe and Roger; Mary Ellen 
married Captain Hal Dixon and has children; Sophy married J. Mon- 
roe Watson and has children ; Susan married William T. Norment 
and has children; Hebe was three times married, first, Col. DeMiller 
second, William Butler, and third, Col. Grimes, of Arkansas ; Roger 
married Miss Grimes. 

George married Miss Sallie Hardin, who died several years after- 
wards. He then married Miss Helm, a near relative of Gov. Helm. 
Mr. Dixon was a lawyer of distinction, and was at one time Judge of 
the Memphis Tenn. Circuit. He died several years ago, leaving 
children. 

Judith married Thomas Towles, Jr., the brightest mind ever born 
in Kentucky and a lawyer of signal ability. She had five children, 



612 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Mary, Ann, Martha, Bettie and Thomas, Mary married Phelps Sas- 
seen, an expert accountant and most excellent gentleman; they have 
several children. Ann died soon after arriving at her twenty-first 
birthday ; Martha married John T. Moore and several years after- 
wards died, leaving children; Bettie married William Arvin and has 
children; Thomas is unmarried. Many years after the death of 
Thomas Towles, his widow married Dr. James Beatty and raised one 
daughter, Fanny, who married Ira Ball, of Corydon. She has children. 
Frances married Dr. James B. Allen, of Shelby County,Kentucky 
and moved to Union County. She had six children, namely: Mary, 
Drucilla, Georgiana, Fanny, Henry and Sallie; Drucilla married a Dr. 
Jones, and died some year afterwards; Joseph married a Miss Matting- 
ly; Sallie married in Virginia; Fanny married Dr. Neal, of Evansville; 
Georgiana married Dr. Stone, of Union County, and died; Henry D. 
married Miss Mattie Hughes, daughter of Hon. D. H. Hughes, of 
Morganfield, and has children. This completes the long line of 
Capt Dixon's progeny. 

GEORGE ATKINSON — George Atkinson, who was for many 
years one of the most conspicuous characters in the social and busi- 
ness life of Henderson, was born at Church Hill, in County Down, 
Ireland, on May 17th, 1793. Being left an orphan at an early age, 
he came to America in the year 1805 and was reared by an uncle in 
Richmond, Virginia. He was sent to the best schools within reach, 
but when a mere youth went into the counting-house of his uncle as a 
clerk, and there acquired the knowledge of business and of men which 
in his later life was of great advantage to him. 

While so engaged, and during the War of 1812 with Great Britain, 
he had some experience of military life, serving for a time in a com- 
pany of volunteers, commanded by William Wirt, who was afterwards 
Attorney General of the United States, and was often thrown into 
contact with Chief Justice Marshal, John Randolph, of Roanoke, and 
other men then prominent in public life, whose influence upon his ob- 
servant and ambitious character was strongly felt and always remem- 
bered. 

In the year 1817 Mr. Atkinson removed from Richmond and 
settled in Henderson, then a mere village, and began the tobacco busi- 
ness which has since increased to such vast proportions. For many 
years he applied himself diligently to that business and to merchan- 
dise, and by his pluck, judgment and integrity, attained large success 
financially, and acquired the confidence and respect of all who had 
any intercourse with him. 




GEOBGE ATKINSON. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 613 

In the year 1819 he married Miss Mary Dixon, a daughter of 
Capt. Wynn Dixon, and a sister of the late Governor Archibald Dixon. 
By this marriage he had seven children, only two of whom survived 
him, viz: John C. Atkinson, who has twice been Mayor of Henderson, 
and has taken a conspicuous part in the progress and development of 
the city, and Mrs. Blanton Duncan, of Louisville. 

His first wife having died in the year 1842, in 1844 he married 
Mrs. Lucy A. Gayle, a daughter of Major John HoUoway, and sister 
of John G. and Wm. S. Holloway and of Mrs. Rebecca Stites. By 
his latter marriage, he left surviving him only one child. Edward is 
now an officer of the Farmers' Bank in Henderson. His second wife 
died in 1872. Mr. Atkinson was a man of great decision and force 
of character, frankly and without reserve expressing his views on all 
subjects of importance as occasion required, or his inclination prompt- 
ed. He retired from active business during the late war between the 
States, and in 1864, with his wife, daughter and youngest son, made a 
trip to Europe, visiting Great Britain and Ireland and the principal 
points of interest on the Continent, passing the winter of 1864-'65 in 
Rome. 

Mr. Atkinson was for many yeafs identified with the Episcopal 
Church, being a member of the first vestry of St. Paul's Parish at its 
organization in 1832, and, although not a communicant, continuing 
in that body until the year 1867, when he joined the Presbyterian 
Church, of which his wife had for many years been a zealous member. 

He was always liberal in his support of the church, and of every 
project or institution for the betterment of his fellowmen. His hos- 
pitality was proverbial, and his charity, while wholly unostentatious, 
was lavish and bounded by no sect, nationality nor- condition. 
Courteous, brave, upright in all transactions, with a keen sense of 
honor, from which no threat nor advantage could swerve him, through 
a long life he passed in and out among his fellowmen, making his 
presence felt, setting an example which followed, would be a benefac- 
tion to the world, and dying left a name and memory unblotted by 
any unworthy deed. He died in Henderson on June 24th, 1877, in his 
eighty-fifth year. 

WILLIAM DICKSON ALLISON, son of Samuel Allison and 
Margaret Dickson, his wife, pioneers from North Carolina, was born 
in Logan County, on the fifteenth day of February, 1798. 

When quite young his father removed to Muhlenburg County 
and settled upon a piete of land near Greenville. He lived with his 
father, working upon the farm during the summer months and study- 



614 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ing at odd times during the winter months, until he had grown to be 
a good sized lad, when he entered as clerk in a dry goods store owned 
by Judge Alney McLean, in the town of Greenville. He remained in 
this store but a short time, when he was placed in the County and 
Circuit Court Clerk's office, of Muhlenburg County, under Charles F. 
Wing, then not only an officer of superior business qualifications, but 
a gentleman of high, social culture. The boyhood of Mr. Allison was 
furnished with few of those facilities for obtaining a literary educa- 
tion, which are now acces able to almost all. 

His great, natural mind was left to develop its powers as best it 
could without the aid of books or competent instructions, and his 
boyish attainments consisted of the common elements taught in a 
country school of the most humble pretentions. Even these slender 
advantages were but sparingly enjoyed, for, as before said, he was 
compelled to devote a great portion of his time to manuel labor in the 
field. It is more than probable that this early familiarity with the 
sternest realities of life, contributed to give to his mind that strong, 
practical bias which subsequently distinguished his career as an offi- 
cial of matchless qualification and citizen of unsurpassed social 
grandeur. While in the office of Mr. Wing, he attracted the atten- 
tion of Judge McLean, who, being most favorably impressed by his 
amiable deportment, uniform habits of industry and striking displays 
of intelligence, honored him with his friendship and unrestrained 
interest. It was through the advice of Judge McLean that he came 
to Henderson County in the year 1822 and accepted a deputyship 
under Horace Grigsby, then Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts 
of this County. He remained faithful to his post, until the death of Mr. 
Grigsbv, in the year 1824. At his death, Mr. Allison was appointed 
Clerk of the two Courts, which two offices he held from that time to 
the time of his death, March 5th, 1860, thirty-six years. In Decem- 
ber, 1823, he married -Miss Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of Dr. 
James M. Hamilton, one of the earliest settlers and one of the first 
physicians of the new county. The mother of Mrs. Allison was 
Mary Hopkins Davis, a niece of General Samuel Hopkins, who es- 
tablished and settled the town of Henderson, A short time after his 
marriage, Mr. Allison purchased the old Ambrose Barbour homestead, 
on the corner of Third and Water streets, where he lived to the day 
of his death. The fruits of this marriage was eight children, only two 
of whom are now living — Mrs. Mary H. Starling, widow of Lyne Star- 
ling, deceased, and Miss Lucy H. Allison. In November, 1843, Mr. 
Allison was sorely bereaved in the death of his wife, to whom he was 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 615 

devotedly attached, and hardly had he recovered from the irreparable 

loss, when he was called upon to mourn the loss of his only son, Alney, 

a young man of brilliant intel|ect and promise, and in whom his whole 

life had centered.- This son was lost in the unfortunate collision of 

the steamers Major Barbour and Paul Jones, in the Ohio, near Can- 

nelton, on the morning of the third of February, 1848. Only a short 

time after this, he was again called upon to gi\e up a daughter, whose 

personal and social qualities had won for her the esteem of the 

entire community. All of these sad and heartrending bereavements, 

coming one after the other, and in such close proximity of time, 

unnerved his naturally joyous spirit, yet he bore them all with 

heroic, yet terribly wounded courage. In 1845, the old log house in 

which he had lived for twenty years, was caused to be torn away and 

the larse two-storv frame vet standins:. was erected in its stead. Mr. 

Allison, ever after his marriage, was a great student, his broad and 

comprehensive mind, quick as thought and accurate in its convictions, 

readily grasped every subject he undertook and easily and quickly 

mastered it. He was a great believer in the thorough study of 

English grammar, and studied it for years after his marriage, attending 

at one time for several months, a night school, taught by a professor, 

in whose ability for explaining and imparting information, he had 

confidence. He was the eldest of five sons, all of whom were noted 

for the originality of their jokes and great fondness for perpetrating 

them. The subject of this sketch, while a great believer in this 

pleasantry, was never a perpetrator of practical jokes, yet it is more 

than probable that his master mind furnished the detail by which his 

brothers and others were guided. In early times, the Allisons were 

noted throughout Kentucky for their spirit and humor, for at times 

they were unmerciful in the application of their jokes ; in this, though, 

Mr. William Allison was not known as a leading spirit. He was a 

man, while full of wit and humor and as fond of a joke as any living 

man, was yet dignified and never permitted that graceful characteristic 

to forsake him. This ungov^ernable disposition attaching to each one 

of the five boys, was inherited from the father, for it is told of the old 

man, that the last act of his life was to frighten a timid old neighbor, 

who was sitting up with him at the time, and then surrender up his 

spirit to Him who gave it. Mr. Allison held many offices of trust, by 

appointment. He was Clerk of the Board of Trustees of the town for 

years, Master Commissioner in Chancery, Trustee of the Jury Fund, 

Agent by the State in the settlement of old land Taxes, and for the 

sale of land under the internal improvement act, and other offices of 



616 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

honor, the duties of all which he performed to the entire satisfaction 
of all parties concerned. 

It is a remarkable fact that, after having held the two offices of 
Circuit and County Clerk for twenty-seven years consecutively, by ap- 
pointment, he was elected at the first election in 1851, after the adop- 
tion of the new constitution, and continued to hold both offices up to 
his death, in 1860, without ever having been opposed by any man of 
either political party. He never studied law with a view to its practice, 
but it is a positive fact that he gave more legal advice than all of the 
lawyers practicing at the bar, and settled hundreds of what were evi- 
dently sure to be vexatious lawsuits by his good Counsel. 

No man has ever enjoyed to a greater extent the unlimited con- 
fidence of the whole people who knew him; on the contrary, men 
seemed to regard it a privilege to serve him, and in political matters 
it was impossible to draw the party lines so as to proscribe him. He 
was scrupulously particular in all of his dealings, and in his official 
capacity was as systematic and conservative as it was possible for 
human to be. He was the very life of the social circle and was a 
most welcomed guest in any household. He was a person of com- 
manding figure and peculiarly graceful in all the phases of life. He 
was remarkably fond of children and took delight in teaching his own 
in their youthful days. He was passionately fond of music, and in 
his younger days occasionally played the violin for the .amusement of 
his own houshold. This he continued to do, until (as he said himself) 
he read in a Boston paper where a man had been hung for being a 
common fiddler, when he laid his cremona down and never afterwards 
picked it up. Mr. Allison was rather diffident than otherwise, and for 
years was known to travel a comparatively unused street in going 
from his residence to his office. Punctuality was a characteristic of 
his, and it is a fact that for many years prior to his death he did not 
vary five minutes any day in going to and returning from his office. 
He disliked street conversations and was seldom seen on Main or any 
other much traveled thoroughfare. His disease, though a heart trouble, 
took a very remarkable course in manifesting itself. Five or six 
months anterior to his death, he was annoyed with a dull neuralgic 
pain in his right wrist. Applications were used, but to no good pur- 
pose. The pain increased, gradually extending its way to his shoulder, 
until he was forced to take his room and bed, where he remained, 
under the best medical treatment, until his earthly life succombed 
to the inevitable. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 617 

During his illness, and while crazed from fever, he arose from his 
bed and approached a table which had sat for years in the center of 
his room, and busied himself re arranging his books and papers. He 
appeared to be worried, until, recognizing Judge Wm. Rankin, who 
was attending him at the time, said to hira, he wanted a marriage 
blank filled out. The Judge, knowing his condition, and in order to 
gratify him, procured a slip of paper and seated himself to write. 

Mr. Allison then gave him two licticious names and general 
directions as to how the blank should be filled out. Having completed 
it as directed. Judge Rankin arose, and said, " Now, all that is needed 
to make this legal, is your signature." " No ! No ! " replied the crazed 
man, " I can't do that; I can't sign my official signature to that paper," 
showing conclusively that, while he was disposed to indulge a humor, 
he was too particular to affix his signature to any paper not legally 
authorized. One of the prettiest incidents in his whole life, and one 
in which there is a grand lesson taught all mankind, is told by Col. 
John T. Bunch, who had called to see him for the last time. He was 
now beyond recovery ; he knew it, and had consented to see a clergy- 
man. As Col. Bunch entered the front door of the residence, he was 
met by Miss Lucie and was told of this fact. 

A few moments after being ushered into the room, the Rev. D. 
H. Deicon, of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, came in. Mr. Allison 
looked at him, and then spoke to him: " Well, Mr. Deacon, I am like 
a badly managed lawsuit — have had ample time for preparation, and 
now the case is called and I am not ready for trial." What a grand 
lesson indeed, there is in this wonderful thought. A few days there- 
after, on the fifth day of March, 1860, this great and good man died. 
He had never, during his life, attached himself to any religious de- 
nomination, nevertheless, he was a great student of the Bible and a 
firm believer in the faith once delivered to the saints. 

His remains were buried on the 6th, from St. Paul's Episcopal 
Church, Rev. D. H. Deacon officiating. The occasion was a sad and 
solemn one, and was attended by a great number of county, as well as 
city people. 

JOHN ENEAS McCALLTSTER was born in Henderson 
County October 14th, 1805. His ancestors were of Scottish origin, 
and remarkable for their personal courage. His father, Eneas 
McCallister, was a native of Pennsylvania; his mother, whose maiden 
name was Kinkead, was also from the same State. His great-grand- 
father, Samuel Kinkead, prior to Braddock's defeat, was tomahawked 
by the Indians on the Potomac River, in Virginia, and his wife, two 



618 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KV. 

sons and a daughter, captured and carried awa}^ to the territory of 
Ohio. Samuel Kinkead, the oldest son, then about fourteen years of 
age, effected his escape and afterwards joined Washington's army. 
Mrs. Kinkead was separated from her children, some time after their 
capture, and taken by the Indians to the territory of Illinois, near the 
Mississippi River. During this time a treaty had been effected 
between the government and the Indians, and a large number of 
them came into Pittsburg. With the Indians were the two Kinkead 
boys and their sister, who had, during her captivity, become the wife 
of one of the chiefs. A short time after their arrival, the three were 
discovered by their brother Sam, who was then a Captain in the 
American army. He persuaded the two boys to desert the Indians, 
but failed in all his efforts to reclaim his sister, she refusing to give 
up her wild Indian life and return among the whites. The mother, 
who was a captive, as before stated, in the Illinois territory, had 
often been importuned to marry one of the chiefs, and had as often 
positively declined. She offended one of the chiefs in some way not 
known, and, for this reason, was ordered to be burned at the stake. 
The French, who then occupied the Missouri territory, and had built 
the town of Kaskaskia on the opposite side of the Mississippi, were 
on friendly terms and carried on a large trade with the Indians. A 
French merchant of Kaskaskia, named Larsh, was over among the 
Indians, and, discovering a white woman packing fagots and sticks, 
involuntarily made inquiries concerning her. He soon learned her 
history, and also that she was packing vvood, whose leaping flames 
were that very night to burn her mortal frame and waft her spirit into 
eternity. Horrified beyond measure, this Frenchman determined to 
thwart the decree of the hearties monster and at the risk of his own 
life effect her escape. He met Mrs. Kinkead, and by signs and se- 
cret whispers, warned her of her approaching fate, and begged that 
she fly with him. This she consented readily to do, and as good for- 
tune would have it, the two succeeded in reaching Kaskaskia. Larsch 
was a man of considerable means and unmarried. Owing, perhaps, 
to the exciting and dangerous incidents through which the two had 
passed, a mutual attachment sprung up between them which ulti- 
mately resulted in their marriage according to the rites and forms of 
the Catholic church. Mrs. Kinkead had been raised a Protestant, 
and, even after her marriage to Larsh, held to that faith. By some 
means, she managed throughout her entire captivity to save to herself 
a Protestant Bible, which she read day by day. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 619 

Kaskaskia vfas a Catholic settlement, and Larsh, her husband, 
was a devoted member ot the church ; yet she held firm to her Bible 
and would read it whenever an -ijpportunity offered. One day, while 
she was thus engaged, a priest happened in, and, discovering her with 
the book, seized hold of it, and, wrenching it from her hands, turned 
and threw it in the fire. Her husband was absent at the time, but» 
upon his return, she told him what had happened. The story so 
enraged him that upon the return of the priest, he rushed upon him 
and, denouncing him, said : " I do you as you do my wife's book ; " 
with this he seized the priest and threw him in the fire. Larsh, know- 
ing the penalty that would be visited upon him and his wife when this 
fact became known, seized a mattress from off of one of the beds and 
with her retreated hurriedly to the river, where he improvised a raft, 
upon which he placed the mattress, and the two made the perilous 
journey across the Mississippi River, where they claimed the proteC' 
tion of General Clarke's army of Kentuckians, which had arrived in 
pursuit of the Indians. Larsh, as before stated, was a man of 
considerable means, but, after his flight, and the discovery of what he 
had done, became known, every vestige of property to which he. set 
claim was confiscated by the French. Captain Samuel Kinkead, of 
the American army, then stationed at Pittsburgh, hearing of his 
sister's escape from the Indians and subsequent escape from Kaskas- 
kia, to General Clarke's army, obtained a leave of absence and, in a 
canoe, paddled down the Ohio to Cairo and thence up the Mississippi 
to Clarke's army, where he found his sister. After relieving his 
fatigued limbs, he, with his sister and Larsh, her husband, took 
passage in the canoe and paddled down the Mississippi and up 
the Ohio to Pittsburgh, and, although both banks of the Ohio at 
frequent places were occupied by Indians, they made the journey 
successfully without encountering a single Indian or meeting with any 
serious obstacle. Larsh and his wife afterwards removed to Ohio, 
where they raised a family of children who proved worthy of their 
brave and noble parentage. The Larsh boys became, in after years, 
immensely wealthy, and one grandson died a leading man of Cincin- 
nati commercial and local circles. 

Captain Samuel Kinkead, who had braved all dangers for the 
relief of his sister, whom he loved better than he did his own life, 
remained in the American army until its disbandment, when he 
returned to Virginia and married. In the year 1794 or '95, he immi- 
grated with his family to Lexington, Kentucky, where he remained 
about five years, then removing to Livingston County, settling in that 



620 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

part of it which fell to Caldwell in the formation of that county. 
In the year 1804, Miss Jane, daughter of Captain Samuel Kinkead, 
and Eneas McCallister, Jr., the father of the subject of this sketch, 
met at one of those great religious camp meetings, so frequently held in 
early times, and, at first sight, became victims to that incomprehensible 
of all incomprehensibilities, "love." Shortly thereafter they were mar- 
ried and settled for life in Henderson County. 

As to che paternal ancestors of John E. McCallister, his grand- 
father, Eneas McCallister, who was a wealthy man in the city of 
Pittsburgh^ and not only wealthy himself, but of close affinity with 
others of great wealth, hearing glowing stories of the riches of the 
Cumberland River country, determined to go hence and establish a 
mechanical village, he hnnself being an expert blacksmith. With that 
end in view, he loaded a keel-boat and, with his family, embarked on 
the placid Ohio for the mouth of the Cumberland River. Reaching 
the mouth, he poled up to the point where Clarksville is now situated? 
and there disembarked. In 1809, he served as Treasurer of the 
County of Montgomery, Tenn. The Indian wars coming on, and 
other reverses pressing hard upon him, he was forced to surrender to 
the inevitable, after losing all that he had in the world. Friends and 
relations whom he left behind at Pittsburgh, urged him to return, and, 
after having lived ten years in that wild country, he concluded to do 
so. He therefore procured him a large sized boat called a Perote, a 
boat made of the largest sized tree, by digging out the center and 
rounding off its ends, and in this he embarked with his wife and sons, 
John, Eneas, Jesse, Archibald, Clark and Joseph, and daughters, 
Catharine, Polly, Betsy, and Sally. His boat he propelled with oars 
and poles. The trip was not only a dangerous one, but from the na' 
ture of circumstances, an exceedingly fatiguing and worrysome one. 
After weeks of hard work from the mouth of the Cumberland, in stem- 
ming the current of the Ohio, the party succeeded in reaching the 
" Red Banks," now Henderson, where they were met by heavy floating 
ice and compelled to take the bank. Here he secured a vacant log house 
on the river front and set to work to make himself and familv comfor- 
table for the winter. At the time of Mr. McCallister's arrival at the Red 
Banks, there were but few settlers, among the number being John Hus- 
bands, John Kuykendall, John Haussman and Jake Sprinkle. Mr. Mc- 
Callister was a man of great piety and very strict in his family concern- 
ing the proper observance of the Sabbath. He would not associate 
himself nor permit his family to associate with any of the settlers on 
this day. As a consequence, Kuykendall and some of his friends, who 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 621 

had no faith except that in accord with the devil and his works, de- 
termined to run the old man off, and, on a certain night secretly 
approached his cabin and fired a volley into it. They had mistaken 
their game, for their fire was returned and they were forced to retreat. 
During the winter, Eneas, Jr., the father of John E. McCallister,Esq., 
and his brother, Jesse, kept the family well supplied with wild meat, 
frequently, when in search for buffalo and bear, extending their hunt 
twenty miles out. It was on one of these excursions that they dis- 
covered a lick upon the bank of Highland Creek, and this being 
reported to the father, determined him to give up his return to Pitts- 
burgh, and to remove in the spring with his family to that spot for 
the purpose of opening a well for the manufacture of salt. Mr. 
McCallister did settle there, and for years manufactured salt at a 
great profit. During the time he located, entered and had patented 
large tracts of land for himself and sons. 

Eneas McCallister, Jr., upon his marriage, settled the William 
C. Green farm, one mile this side of Rock Spring, and two and a half 
miles from Cairo, where the subject of this sketch, John E. McCal- 
lister, was born October 14th, 1805. Mr. McCallister raised seven 
children : John E., Samuel, Eliza (who married Furna Cannon), Lor- 
raine (who married Evans Barnett), Orinda (who married Benjamin 
Talbott), William M. and Joseph. John E. and William M., who now 
live in Owensboro, are the only surviving children. 

Eneas McCallister, Sr., as before stated, was a devoted church- 
man and for years was an Elder in the Rev. James McGready's church. 
In 1810 he was appointed one of the Territorial Judges for the 
Indiana Territory, and, removing there, held the first court for the 
counties of Vanderburg and Warrick, in the town of Boonville. 

John Eneas McCallister was ambitious during his youth to obtain 
a thorough education, but met with many obstacles in endeavoring to 
gratify his early aspirations for knowledge. He attended the common 
schools of his home until he had mastered all the branches taught in 
the country schools of those early days. His father could not furnish 
him the means to enjoy the advantages of a course in the more ad- 
vanced colleges of the country, but contrived to raise funds sufficient 
to enable him to obtain tuition in the High School at Bowling Green, 
Ky. Here our subject made rapid progress in his learning, giving 
particular attention to the study of Latin. Having for a long time 
entertained a desire to become a lawyer, he was at last enabled to 
begin the study of his chosen profession, in 1826, in the office of 
George Morris, at Henderson, Kentucky. After passing two years in 



622 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the preliminary study, he was duly admitted to the bar, and, in 1828^ 
went South to establish himself in his profession, but, after a short 
■absence, he was taken sick and obliged to return to his home. Upon 
his recovery, he was reluctantly compelled to abandon his profession 
of the law, and thereafter engaged in occupations more conducive to 
the enjoyment of physical vigor. About this time his father died, and 
a large family was left in destitute circumstances. He at once went 
to the assistance of his widowed mother, who was left struggling with 
adversity ; and, by his indefatigable efforts, and the help of his broth- 
ers, the family soon rapidly advanced in prosperity. He embarked 
in the business of a flatboat trader in produce, along the Ohio and 
Mississippi Rivers, and remained in this business for about seven 
years with great success. Upon giving up flatboating on the rivers, 
he purchased a large tract of land, and entered upon its cultivation, 
and soon became the leading farmer of his vicinity. His great ability 
and numerous excellent qualities gained for him the highest respect 
of all his neighbors; and such was the confidence reposed in his judg 
ment and sagacity, he was consiantly called upon to discharge the du- 
ties of some responsible trust, in which his management always met 
with the unqualified approval of all parties concerned. He possessed 
considerable knowledge of medicine, having devoted considerable 
time to the study of this science, and thus was enabled to act as the 
physician for his locality. He was the largest landholder of his re- 
gion of the county, and all of his farms were models of excellence, and 
conducted upon the most approved methods of agriculture. He was 
freely consulted by the neighboring farmers in regard to the planting 
and then the disposal of their crops in the best markets, and his coun- 
sel was invariably followed. With his acquaintance of the law, many 
accomplishments, unquestioned integrity and rare judgment, he be- 
came the confidential advisor of the citizens for a large area of coun- 
try surrounding his home, and the utmost reliance was placed in his 
decisions. His high standing in the community and his eminent abil- 
ity well fitted him for a seat in the councils of the State, and he, 
therefore, was accordingly selected by his fellow-citizens to represent 
them in the State Legislature, being chosen to that body in 1846. He 
was for a number of years a Director in the Farmers' Bank, and, upon 
the resignation of Joseph Adams, was elected President, serving with 
great credit to himself and benefit to the bank up to the fall of 1882. 
He served as Magistrate under the old Constitution from 1835 to 
1851 inclusive. He was married in 1832 to Miss Elizabeth Scott, a 
native of Wilmington, Delaware, but suffered the misfortune of losing 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



623 



his wife, by death, after having been married but ten months. He 
was again married in 1838 to Miss Elizabeth Talbott, daughter of 
Benjamin Talbott, a worthy farmer of Henderson County, and had 
three children by this marriagef none of whom survive. He was again 
married in December, 1867, to Mrs. Fanny Stanley, a highly accom- 
plished lady, daughter of Josiah Jenkins, of Buffalo, New York. He 
is a prominent member of the Episcopal church, and evinces the deep- 
est reo-ard for the welfare of his church. Mr. McCallister is a highly 
cultured and refined gentleman, possesses a kindly disposition and 
great suavity of maimers. Throughout his long and eventful career, 
he has always shown the greatest philanthropic and benevolent spirit, 
ready with his assistance, and willing to make sacrifices to promote 
the well-being of others. His course has won for him the highest 
esteem and veneration of his feJlowmen. Mr. McCallister at this day 
is known and recognized as one of Henderson County's wealthiest 
citizens. In addition to a handsome residence, and four large store- 
houses in the city, he is the owner of thirty-two hundred acres of 
most valuable farming lands in the county, four hundred acres on the 
south side and twenty-seven hundred and fifty acres on the north side of 
Green River. 

Since writing the above, Mr. McCallister died August 7th, 1886, 
at 2 o'clock p.m., and was buried in Fernwood from St. Paul's Episco- 
pal Church. 

ELIJAH W. WORSHAM. The father of Elijah W. Worsham 
moved from Indiana to Kentucky in the year 182U, settling upon a 
farm, purchased by him, some half mile or more above Evansville, on 
the Ohio River, in the then wilderness of this locality which was com- 
paratively uninhabited. At the time, and for many years afterwards, 
all of the country lying between what was known as the pole bridge 
slough and the point opposite Evansville, was covered by a dense un- 
dei-o-rowthof cane higher than a man's head while riding on horse- 

back. 

Wild beasts made their abode in this cane, notably some bear and 
many wolves. Mr. Ludson Worsham married Miss Margaret King, 
daughter of Elijah King, one of the early pioneers, and to them was 
born, February 12th, 1823, the subject of this sketch. 

In 1832 John Collins secured the contract for carrying the mail 
once a week between the towns of Henderson and Evansville and 
sub-contracted to Ludson Worsham. At nine years of age, young 
Elijah was appointed to perform the then arduous duty of making this 
weekly trip on horseback, exchanging the mails between the two 



624 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

towns At the time, there were but few settlers in this territory, 
Samuel, William, Joseph, James, Harbison, Luke and Wash Butler, 
Eo-gleston Matthews, James McClain, Ludson Worsham, John Eakins, 
and a Mr. Scott, comprising the whole list of inhabitants from the 
Water Works to Evansville, and not over five of this number were 
men of family. 

Manfully did the young boy perform his duty for three long years, 
and many a time was he frightened almost out of his wits. His father 
furnished him a very fine horse, so thus far he was comfortably 
equipped. A strange incident occurred the first year he was employed 
in carrving the mail, which is worth relating. His trips were made on 
Friday of each week, and one day, in the summer of 1832, as he was 
coming from Evansville, mounted upon his mail sack, he met at the 
pole bridge slough, Mr. Samuel Butler, who stopped and advised him 
to proceed no further, telling him at the same time, that the cholera 
had broken out and was depopulating the town; that men had been 
seized with the frightful disease and fallen in the streets. This in- 
formation, of course, unnerved the young mail carrier, and regarding 
not only the advice of Mr. Butler, but believing discretion the better 
part of valor, determined, and did return to his father's house, where 
he was justified, after relating what had been told him. He put up 
his fine horse and returned to the house, wondering what the post- 
masters ot the two places would think of his non-appearance, for it 
was the first time he had ever missed. That evening he went to the 
stable to feed his horse, when, to his amazement, he was found dead, 
havine" died during the afternoon from a severe attack of colic. The 
young man was greatly distressed at the loss of his horse, and while 
contemplating his death in connection with the story told him the day 
before, on the road, a messenger came up with the still more startling 
intelligence of the death of Mr. Butler, from cholera, only a few 
hours prior to that time. Young Worsham's early education 
was to a degree fragmentary, being obtained at such schools as 
were then in the country, and during the intervals of labor. 
Durino- the winter months he was sent to school, but the summer 
months were devoted to working on the farm and chopping cord 
wood. He continued to live upon the Worsham homestead until the 
year 1847. In 1844, at the age of twenty-one, he married Miss Miriam 
Jane Graham, a young lady of great native beauty, and yet handsome. 
In the vear 1847, his health having failed him, and attributing it to river 
bottom life, he purchased a farm near Bloomington, some nine miles 
out on the Knoblick road, to which he removed and contir led to re- 



^■^^^"^,. 







E. W. WORSHAM. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 625 

side for three years, at the end of which time he returned to his 
father's old place. Mr. Worsham had always taken an active interest 
in politics, and shortly after the organization of the American or Know 
Nothing party, he became a member, and in the summer of 1855 was 
nominated by that party, for Representative, in the following Legis- 
lature. The canvass was a warm one, and his opponent was a keen, 
astute, political manager, yet he was elected over Colonel C. W. 
Hutchen, defeating him by a handsome majority. Mr. Worsham 
served during the terms of 1855 and '56, with great credit to himself 
and the county. 

Returning from the Legislature, he again applied himself to farm- 
ino- on his river place, where he remained until 1859, when he pur- 
chased of W. B. Woodruff, the farm now owned by the estate of T. W. 
Witt, two miles out on the Owensboro road. In the year 1863 he 
built the Overton tobacco factory, and embarked in the tobacco stem- 
ming business on a large scale. In 1867 he moved with his family 
from the country into the city. In 1870 he purchased of C. A. Rudy 
the three-story brick store house, on Second street, now owned by A. 
S. Winstead, then unfinished, and completed it. 

He then formed a co-partnership with A. S. Winstead, and under 
the firm name of E. W. Worsham & Co., bought and sold liquors in 
large quantities. 

Added to this, was a splendidly arranged labratory, under the 
supervision of an expert, where the firm manufactured bitters and 
several kinds ot malarial medicines. In 1873 he was seized with the 
Tule land fever, and in company with several other gentlemen, pur- 
chased a large lot of these lands off the coast of California. He re- 
moved with his family to the Golden Gate, and there raised two crops 
of wheat, without ever ploughing a furrow. The first year the sod 
was burned off of the land and wheat sown; six hundred sheep were 
then run over it, and from this labor alone, a magnificent crop was 
harvested. Next year a volunteer crop was grown from the roots of 
the first year's crop. The uncertain condition of the lands, however, 
induced him to sell, which he did, and, at the end of two years removed 
into the City of San Francisco, where he remained for one year, going 
from thence to Los Angeles, Southern California, where he engaged 
in grazing sheep, having on hand at times as many as twenty-five 
hundred head. In 1881 he returned to Henderson, formed a partner- 
ship with Joe. B. Johnson, built a large and finely arranged sour mash 
distillery, and commenced distilling under the firm name of E. W. 

40 



626 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

W'orshain & Co. Mr. Worsham was Deputy Sheriff in 1852 and '53, 
has served the city in the Council and School Board, and has been 
twice elected president of the Fair Company, to-wit: in 1882 and '83. 
He was made an Odd Fellow in 1844, and has during his life been an 
active, earnest and useful member, being now, by appointment, 
Deputy District Grand. In 1846 he joined the Baptist Church, and 
remained an earnest working member until 1870, when he applied for 
and was granted a card of withdrawal. The fruit of his marriage has 
been ten children, only four of whom are now living, Andrew Jackson, 
Dr. Ludson, DeVVitt Clinton, and William Graham, all intelligent, 
promising young men. The ups and downs of life, to which Mr. 
Worsham has fallen heir, have been many, yet by superior judgment, 
keen foresight and close management, he has not only held his own, 
but has amassed a handsome fortune. Although sixty-five ye^rs of age, 
he looks as young as most men of forty-five. 

Andrew Jackson Worsham. —The young gentleman of whom 
this sketch tells, is the eldest living son of Elijah W. and Miriam Jane 
Worsham, and was born in Henderson County on the seventeenth day 
of May, 1850. His father, by honest effort, faithful application, and 
fine judgement, had gained from this world a competency sufficient to 
eive to his children such an education as thev would take ; therefore, 
our subject was given the benefit of the best schools of his county, 
and afterwards sent to Poughkeepsie Commercial College at the city 
of that name in New York. Subsequent to that time, he matriculated 
at the Eminence Ky. Military College, where he finished his educa- 
tion with credit to himself and the father who had been so mindful of 
his son's future interest. 

In the month of August, 1873, the father of our sketch removed 
to the State of California, taking with him his entire family, and 
settled upon the San Joaquin River, near San Francisco. 

During the residence at that point, and on the night of the tenth 
of November, 1873, Mr. A. J. Worsham, the subject of whom we are 
writing, met with the most exciting and distressing accident associated 
with his entire life. Before proceeding with the narrative mentioned, 
let us say that subsequent to that time, from 1875 to 1881, our subject 
lived at a little place called Banning, where he was engaged in mer- 
chandising. Banning, as all far West towns are, was inhabited by a 
peculiarly ignorant and desperate class of people — Spaniards, cow 
boys and toughs generally. Men were accustomed to ride on horse- 
back into the stores, and, at the deadly end of a " British Bull Dog " 
or six-shooter, demand what was wanted and ride out again. Life 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 627 

was but a feather weight, and one and another shot down, was as 
innocent an amusement with them as coasting on a snow clad hill is 
to the children of our clime. 

This was the inevitable, and our subject soon found it out, 3'ethe 
had settled there, purchased property and invested his all, and that 
he fully determined to protect. His admirable personal and social 
traits gained for him friends among the toughest of the neighborhood. 
His personal bearing showing no fear, but, at all times, exhibiting a 
courage undaunted by the display of weapons, won him other friends, 
and his proud Kentucky blood showed him so prominently beyond 
bulldozing that " Devil Jack," as he was known in his youth, soon 
became the head of the town and respected by all around him. Many 
of the incidents connected with his life in Banning are thrilling, 
intensely interesting, and, were they committed to print in full, novel- 
istic form, a story could be told that would make a volume. 

But back to the night of November 10th, 1873. The day pre- 
ceding this night was windy, bleak, chilly and cold, and, as the weary 
sun was lolling in the West, the winds gained headway, and, as 
twilight came, so came a perfect windstorm. Our subject, accompa- 
nied by a friend, had, during the day, sauntered along the shore of 
the great river, coasting in a sailboat, not to kill the tedium of slow- 
creeping days, but there was a mission of love, and when one has a 
big heart and feeble hands, a heart to hew his name out upon time as 
on a rock, then immortalities, to stand on time as on a pedestal, dan- 
ger presents no fears. Racking night came, the wind drew the pale 
curtains of the vapory clouds, and showed those wonderful, mysterious 
voids throbbing with stars like pulses of men. Our subject and his 
friend, young, brave Duncan Cargill, bent upon love across the raging 
waters, bade their time with patience until patience ceased to be a 
virtue, and go they must and go they would. 

'• The King of Day had dipped his weary head 
'Within old Father Ocean's billowy bed." 

Yes, it was night when the little boat left its mooring, and 
the dauntless young men bended themselves to the work of 
the oars. The river, at this point, was one and a half miles in 
width, and the rolling whitecaps flying housetop high, the wmd 
howling as wolves for blood ; yet, on they went, the little boat 
mounting the madcaps and, swan-like, settling gracefully in the 
valley, only again and again to be tossed high up. Slow progress was 
made, however ; the sea grew worse and worse until our subject's 
blood ran back ; his shaking knees against each other knocked, and 



628 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

he foresaw thai the dark-winged angel respects not time nor . place. 
He realized '' All seasons are thine, O Death ! " and how true it was, 
for at eleven o'clock, the boat capsized, the two were thrown into the 
cold waves, and soon thereafter, the winds sweeping over its restless 
surface, sighed a requiem in the trembling shrouds of poor Cargill. 
Wave tossed and almost frozen, our subject saw his comrade go down 
to the valley and shadow of death. 
" What next ? " he cried. 

" I know not. do not care. 

There's nothing which I cannot bear 

Since I have borne this startling blow." 

The position in which he thus found himself, appalling as it 
surely was, seemed to nerve him to a determined and successful fight 
for life. Midnight came and found him still clinging to the capsized 
boat, fighting the waves. One o'clock came with the same result ; 
two, three and four o'clock came, and yet he was drifting. At this 
hour he had drifted near shore and was almost unconscious. A 
merciful providence, through a Mr. Sutherland, went to his rescue^ 
lifted him from the water onto his shoulder and carried him to his 
house, where blankets and other restoratives were administered and 
his life saved. He revived in the course of time, but how many 
could have successfully contended with the ordeal. 

On the seventh of June, 1876, not quite three years subsequent 
to the time of which we have heen writing, Mr. Andrew Jackson 
Worsham (who is an "Old Hickory " in fact) was united in marriage 
to Miss Florence Rhorer at her home in the City of San Francisco. 
They now have four children, John Cook, Miriam, Milton Young and 
Ludson. Several years ago Mr. Worsham returned to Kentucky with 
his family and has since been engaged in the wholesale liquor and 
distilling interest. He is a Republican in politics, a Baptist in 
religious training, but by no means an enthusiast in the work of any 
religious or secular work. He himself is a consistent, hard worker, 
attends diligently to his business and accords that same right to all 
his friends, who are numbered by the thousand. Our subject is a 
member of both the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. 

Ludson Worsham., Physician, is the second living son of E. W. 
and Miriam J. Worsham, and was born in Henderson County on the 
nineteenth day of December, 1854. At an early age Ludson Wor- 
sham manifested a fondness for books. He was educated in various 
private schools, and by private tutors, finally graduating with high 
honors from the " Henderson High School." He studied medicine, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 629 

for which he exhibited a great fondness, and graduated in the vear 
1879, at the Medical Universitv, New York City. He accompanied 
his father during the month o4 August, 1873, to San Francisco, Cali- 
fornia, and became a citizen of the " Golden City." He remained in 
San Francisco several years, and then visited New York for the pur- 
pose of completing his medical education, which he did as before 
stated in 1879. Having graduated, he returned to San Francisco and 
immediately engaged in the practice of his profession in that city un- 
til 1882. His ability was so marked, his strength of character so well 
settled, commercial eyes were soon directed toward him, and in a 
short while he was induced by the " Alaska Commercial Company''^ to 
accept the position of Medical Purveyor for that district, Unalaska, 
a town situated upon the east coast of Unalaska Island, the largest 
and most extreme eastern of the Aleutian Islands, was designated 
headquarters. He accepted the position, and during his stay at that 
place, traveled among the Aleutian Islands off the Coast of Alaska. 
In 1884, much to the regret of the Alaska Commercial Company, Dr. 
Worsham tendered his resignation. For nearly two years he had per- 
formed his duties nobly and faithfully, his gentle kindness in sickness 
and in health, had won him warm friends ; therefore, it is not to be 
wondered, that the Alaska Company reluctantly accepted his resig- 
nation, but, there was a jewel in his far off native home, dearer to his 
noble love than all the glittering wealth above or underneath the earth 
of Alaska. Love knows no limit; for six and one-half long years his 
heart had been tangled in a golden smile ; and, why not, beauty hath 
made our greatest manhood weak ; other Doctors than he have gone 
tilting with a lance of light, in lists of argument, and yet have knelt 
and sighed most plethoric sighs ; stern hearts close barred agamst a 
wanton world, have had their gates burst open by a kiss. There was 
one, who might have topped all men, who bartered joyously for one 
single smile, an empired planet with its load of crowns, and thought 
himself rich. With such sweet arguments staring him in the face, he 
yet " loved and languished after the most orthodox model." Hope, 
" Heaven's own gift to struggling mortals," cheered him upward and 
onward, and soon he was enroute to Henderson. In coming, the 
Doctor visited Petropaulovsk, in the southern part of Western Siberia, 
and, after a long, tedious and disagreeable voyage, landed safe at his 
native town. 

A few months subsequent to his arrival, an event occurred which 
explains what we have been hinting at. On the seventeenth day of 
December, 1884, Dr. Ludson Worsham and Miss Mary L. Hodge, an 



630 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

accomplished lady, a true and devoted lover in maidenhood, an affec- 
tionate and self-denying wife and mother, and a model christian, were 
joined together in the holy estate of matrimony at Henderson, Rev. 
Dr. D. O. Davies, of the First Piesbyterian Church, officiating. Dr. 
Worsham, immediately after his marriage, formed a medical partner- 
ship with his wife's father, Dr. Joseph Anthony Hodge, and for several 
months practiced his chosen profession in Henderson, but as time 
rolled on, he believed Evansville to be a better vineyard for the med- 
ical laborer, so on the tenth day of August, 1885, he removed to that 
city, and is yet domiciled there, doing, as the writer learns, a lucrative 
practice. Dr. Hodge, the father of Mrs. Worsham, is well known to 
the profession throughout Kentucky. He was at one time President 
of the Kentucky State Board of Health, and as a physician is recog- 
nized and acknowledged one of the best in the State. Dr. and Mrs. 
Worsham have had born unto them two children, both boys, each of 
whom being most appropriately named. The eldest is named for his 
maternal grandfather, Anthony Hodge, the youngest for his paternal 
grandfather, Elijah William. 

Dr. Worsham was raised in the Baptist Church faith, but at this 
writing has not confessed the faith handed down, by attaching him- 
self to any church, through membership. Mrs. Worsham is a devoted 
Presbyterian, sincere in all she does or says. Dr. Worsham is a 
charter member of St. George Lodge, Knights of Pythias at Evans- 
ville. 

De Witt Clinton Worsham is the third living son of Elijah 
W. and Miriam J. Worsham. He was born in Henderson County, on 
the fifth day of May, 1857, and it seems that, that happy event to the 
parental head of the family, and his now hundreds of friends and 
warm admirers, had a concurrent bearing with him. It is by no means 
a coincidence, but an evidence of taste on the part of our subject to 
have celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday by wooing, winning and 
uniting unto himself for life, in marriage, a lady so gifted in all the 
graces so necessary to make man's abode in this mundane sphere 
happy and contented. Yet all this is true, for on the fifth day of May, 
1886, this solemn and sacred rite was celebrated at the First Presby- 
terian Church of this city, the contracting parties being De Witt Clin- 
ton Worsham and Miss Fannie R. Walbridge. On the third day of 
June, 1887, there was born unto them Ellen Frances, a bright bloom- 
ing daughter. 

In August, 1873, our subject accompanied his father to Califor- 
nia, and while there graduated from "The California College," lo" 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 631 

cated at Vacaville. He lived in the Golden State with his father for 
eight years, and returned to Henderson on the fourth day of Septem- 
ber, 1881. During his life on the Pacific Coast he studied and mas- 
tered the art of telegr iphy, and at one time was in charge as business 
manager of one of the principal offices of that part of this great coun- 
try. It is due to say, howe\er, that the Western Union Telegraph 
Office at Henderson deseives the credit of his beginning his studies; 
yes, it was here, that, in 1870, he first contracted a liking for the mys- 
tic ait. Our subject gave up telegraphing for several years, but of 
late months a good part of his time has been given to the service of 
the Western Union. That he is competent to accept any position in 
the art *' Lightening," the writer of this has no doubt. For three 
years last past, Mr, Worsham has served his State in the capacitv of 
a soldier member of the "Carlisle Rifles" State Militia. He was 
never called to do dangerous duty, but no matter, he held himself in 
readiness, and it was no fault of his that he was not in the field doiner 
active duty He held the position up to the time the company was 
disbanded by process of law, which only occurred a few months ago. 
Mr. Worsham is a Democrat in politics, a Mason in the mystic tve, 
and so far as the writer knows, holds no partial church leaning He 
is associated with his father and brother in the wholesale liquor and 
distilling business, and serves the great business in the capacity of 
bookkeeper. For several years he successfully engaged in the sale 
of boots and shoes, but resigned that trade to enter a partnership 
with his father. 

William Graham Worsham was born in Henderson County, 
on the fourth day of March, 1860, and is the fourth living son of E. 
W. and Miriam J. Worsham. His father, as he did in the case of his 
other boys, spared no means to give him a substantial education. He 
matriculated, first at the Henderson Public School, and remained a 
student at that institution up to a short time prior to his father's re- 
moval to California in August, 1873. While in his adopted State, 
young Worsham was sent to the "Boy's High School " at San Fran- 
cisco, and subsequently completed his education within the walls of 
the " California College," a noted educational faculty called by that 
name. Subsequent to leaving college, he went to Los xA.ngeles, Cali- 
fornia, settled there, and on the tenth day of May, 1881, was married 
to Miss Margaret Blasdel, formerly of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, a lady 
reputed to be handsome, intelligent and agreeable — an affectionate, 
energetic and most estimable woman. They have one child, Nellie 
Worsham, born June •28th, 1885. 



632 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Mr. Worsham is an apt, quick business young man, and is to-day 
filling two important official positions in the city of his home. He is 
collector for the " Los Angeles Furniture Company," Secretary of the 
Fire Department of that city, having been elected by the Fire De- 
partment June 3d, 1887. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty 
acres of land, lying in Los Angeles County, and located in what is 
known as the " Mineral Oil Belt," or better known as the " Puenti 
Oil District." A company is being formed for the purpose of devel- 
oping this territory, and it is confidently predicted that the tests pro- 
posed will eventuate in success. There are at present six large wells 
located adjacent to this district of land, that are yielding three hundred 
barrels of petroleum daily. Mr. Worsham has never attached him- 
self to any church or any lodge. In politics he is a Democrat. To 
sum him up, he is a young man of fine business qualifications and hab- 
its, and will eventually, if permitted by health, make for himself a 
name to be envied. 

WILLIAM J. MARSHALL, the subject of this sketch, was born 
on the twenty-sixth day of December, 1827, on the farm, settled by his 
grandfather, Colonel William Marshall, five miles south of Henderson, 
on the Madisonville road. 

Col. Wm. Marshall was a soldier in the War of the Revolution 
from Virginia. In the year 1810 he removed from Mecklenburg 
County, Virginia, to this county, and located the farm as above stated. 
He died, two years after, leaving his farm to his widow and youngest 
child, William J, Marshall, then a youth sixteen years of age. The 
son grew to a manhood of high standing in the community for busi- 
ness capacity and social character. For a long time he was engaged 
in merchandising in the town of Henderson, but returned to his farm, 
and soon thereafter married Sarah Lyne Holloway, youngest daughter 
of Col. John Holloway. In the year 1834 Mr. Marshall died, leav- 
ing four children, John H., William J., (subject of this sketch), James 
B. and Lucie Ann., in after years, wife of Col. Leonard H. Lyne. 

At an early age our subject was sent to the Henderson Seminary 
and placed under the educational guidance of Mr. George Gayle, a 
teacher of rare attainments. Under the tutorage of this preceptor, 
Mr. Marshall gained a fine primary education, and, at the age of 
twelve years became a student under the teaching of Rev. John 
McCullough. In three years after, he had fitted himself to enter a 
school possessed of more extended advantages ; therefore, at the age 
of fifteen years, he matriculated at Kenyon College, Ohio, one of the 
most noted institutions of learning then in the West. After remain- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



633 



ing at Gambler one year, he entered *' Centre College," Danville, Ky., 
where he remained one year. Returning to Henderson, he accepted 
a clerkship with his uncle, Sanuiel Stites, at that time one of the lead- 
ing dry goods merchants of tlie town. The agreement between the 
two was limited, yet, at the expiration of the time, both parties were 
well enough pleased to enter into a new contract, which continued up 
to the time Mr. Stites sold out to Evans & Holloway. He remained 
a short time with the new firm, but his health failing him, in 1850, he 
went to Virginia, in the hope of reinstating his physical condition. 
In this, however, he was disappointed, and returning to Henderson, 
' resigned his clerkship and located upon the farm upon which he was 
born. On the twenty-second day of February, 1853, Mr. Marshall 
married Miss Lucie Frances Posey, daughter of William T. Posey and 
great-granddaughter of General Thomas Posey, an officer of the Revo- 
lution, who served upon the staff of General Washington. Mrs. 
Marshall is a most estimable woman, possessed of a peculiar charm 
of manner, and very much beloved. During the year 1858, Mr. 
Marshall, by an unfortunate accident, suffered the loss of his right 
hand, yet by constant practice, soon acquired the art of writing with 
his left hand, and has lost no time in keeping up his large correspond- 
ence. At the close of the War of the Rebellion, having lost some 
• twenty-five valuable slaves, he determined to take up his residence 
in the town. The handsome residence where he now resides was 
built during the summer of 1864, and he, together with his family, 
©ccupied it during the spring of 1865. He soon opened a commission 
and insurance office and was not long in finding himself doing a 
lucrative business. In the fall of 1865 he organized the banking 
house of Green, Marshall & Co., composed of Hon. Grant Green, 
now Cashier of the Farmers' Bank at Frankfort, Ky., himself and Ed- 
ward Atkinson. In the fall of 1866, in order to enlarge the com- 
mission business, he organized the firm of W. J. Marshall cSc Co., 
consisting of Green, Marshall & Co., and Paul J. Marrs. They pur- 
chased a large and commodious wharfboat, and in conjunction occu- 
pied as a storage house the old Green River warehouse, at that time 
situated on a point of land out on the line of Third street, between 
Water street and the river. In 1868 the firm built the large brick 
warehouse, now standing on Third street, between Main and Water 
streets. Upon the election of Hon. Grant Green, to the Cashiership 
of the Farmers' Bank, the banking affairs of Green, Marshall & Co. 
were closed up, and the accounts turned over to the Henderson 
Branch of the Farmers' Bank. In August, 1869, Mr. Marshall was 



634 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

elected a Director of the Farmers' Bank. For several years he was a 
member of the Henderson and Nashville R. R. Directory, representing 
the City of Henderson. By the will of his uncle, John G. Holloway, one 
of the most intelligent and successful business men of the age, Mr. 
Marshall was made one of the executors of his large and varied estate. 
Being solicited, he, in connection with Dr. Thomas Taylor, brother 
of Mrs. Burbank, qualified as administrator of that large estate. In 
both instances he has evinced marked ability in the manasfement of 
the trusts. Mr. Marshall has never been an office-seeker, but fre- 
quently office has sought him. He has served his county and city in 
several capacities. For a long time he served as a member of the Board 
of Public School Trustees, and for a number of years has held, by ap- 
pointment, the position of Water Works Commissioner. In 1872 he 
was appointed a Director of the South Ky. R. R., and entrusted sole- 
ly with the only appropriation of money ever made, looking to the 
building of the road. In June, 1842, at the age of fifteen years, under 
the preaching of Rev. Dr. Nathan Hall, of Lexington, Ky., Mr. Mar- 
shall united himself with the Presbyterian Church, and has continued 
an earnest worker in the cause to this day. In 1851 he was elected 
Superintendent of the Sunday School, and held that position to the 
year 1853. In the year 185-, in connection with others, he was instru- 
mental in the building of a house of worship, near by, known as Posey 
Chapel, in which a Presbyterian Church was organized in the spring 
of 1853. He was elected an elder and Superintendent of the Sunday 
School, and served up to 1865, when he removed to town. In Septem- 
ber, 1865, he was a^ain elected Superintendent of the Presbyterian 
Sunday School in the city. During the same year he was elected an 
elder, both of which offices he yet holds, with signal gratification to 
the church congregation. In addition to a considerable city estate, 
he is the owner of large farming interests, extensively engaged in the 
tobacco trade, being the leading partner in the large sales tobacco 
warehouse in the city, the stemmery at Boxville, Union County, and 
one of the largest growers of the staple in this county. In the year 
1878, combining business with pleasure, Mr. Marshall visited Europe 
and traveled extensively, both in England and on the Continent. 
During his visit, he was a regular contributor to the columns of the 
Henderson Reporter. His letters were gracefully written, and out of 
the usual routine of such correspondence — they were breezy, newsy 
and highly entertaining, looked for regularly and devoured with a 
keenly relish by all the readers of the paper, and by all who could 
procure a copy. Mr. Marshall is the father of eight children, three 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 635 

daughters and five sons— Posey, William J., Starling L., Stuart Oxley, 
Len Lyne, Lila, who married Fielding L Turner, Annie, who married 
George B. Hughes, and Virgie, unmarried. All of the children are 
living, and no shepherd has ever had greater cause to rejoice over his 
flock. Mr. Marshall has but little time to devote to literary pursuits, 
although he is inclined that way, being an occasional contributor to 
the newspapers. In closing this sketch, it cannot be more appropri- 
ately done, than in reproducing the following lines, written by him on 
the anniversary of his fifty-second birthday, and a few verses written 
on the death of Richard Stites. 

REVERIES ON MY FIFTY-SECOND BIRTHDAY, 

Another birthday come, another milestone passed, 
In the journe}^ which leads from the cradle to the grave ; 
Oh. how the line seems lengthening out, and as I gaze 
Backward over the long array, unto the dim vista, 
Vista of my childhood days, I seem to see 
The first one resting upon a Sainted Mother's knee. 
Further on they seem to mark an aimless orphaned youth, 
With no kind father's voice, or hand, to guide uiy feet, 
And then they tell of years of labor, toil and care, 
With days of unalloyed happiness, of blessings 
Rich and full, ot chastisements and sorrows sore. 
A da of reckoning this. Oh, come my soul, thy 
Ballance sheet prepare : How stands the account 
Betwixt thee and thy God ? what hast thou rendered 
Unto him, for all his goodness shown to thee ? 
What loving service wrought for Him who did 
So much for thee ? What self denial ; what 
Sacrifice of Avealth or ease, for sake of Him 
Who tho' he was rich, for your sake became poor? 
w hat cans't thou show of opportunities given thee of 
Talents multiplied ? what deeds ot kindness done to 
Suffering fellow men; what burdens lifted from 
The mourning widows heart ; what orphans tears, so 
Kindly, gently wiped away ; what erring one reclaimed? 
Oh. come my soul the balance strike as in the sight 
Of Him who knowest thy every deed, whose eye discerns 
The inmost thoughts and purposes of thy heart. 
Oh. loving Father, who dos't look with pitying eye 
On thy frail children here, accept my humble service, 
Which, tho' feeble and faltering, jet from honest heart proceeds ; 
Oh. give me wisdom, grace and strength, that when 
My birthday's here are ended, it may appear 
That I've not lived in vain. 
Henderson, Ky., December 26th, 1879, 



636 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

TRIBUTE TO RICHARD STITES. 

One by one the Autumn leaves have fallen, 

Leaving the boughs so bare and seer ; 
One bv one our friends are taken, 

Leaving our hearts so sad and drear. 

Oh, what if ne'er the springtime breezes 

Should wake again the leaves and flowers , 

Oh. what if ne'er the voice of Jfsus, 

Should make again these friends of ours. 

How dark this world, if leaf and flowers 

Should slumber e'er 'neath winter's finger; 

How dark the grave, if in its power 

Our sleeping friends should ever linger. 

But, soon again the breath of summer 

Shall clothe the earth in verdure vernal, 
And soon again our friends who slumber, 
Shall wake in Christ to life eternal. 
December, 1883. 

EDMUND LYNE STARLING.— In treating of the life of the 
one whose name heads this brief sketch, one must feel that the diffi- 
culties he has to encounter, are equally great with those of the 
photographer when he attempts to reproduce on prepared paper, 
the exact features of a picture that presents aspects of a marked 
character. From his earliest childhood he possessed a mind remark- 
able for its strength and clearness. His chief aim seemed to be to 
earn an honorable name through the practice of those civic virtues 
which, while they adorn their possessor, are the strongest supports of 
both society and government. At an early age he began to exhibit 
those of character, which, in their fuller development, caused him to 
be beloved and respected wherever he was known. 

In his domestic life, his home stood with hospitable gates ajar, 
welcoming the stranger, the friend, the wayfarer and the distressed. 
No cloistral quiet there, with grave and irksome duties, where life 
was treated as a great sorrow to be borne in peace ; nay, but a genial 
homelike pleasantness, rife with joyous sounds and echoing with con- 
tagious laughter, from its open windows and light, inviting chambers. 
Little children loved and came to him, their intuitions, wiser than our 
skill, recognized his kindly, generous nature, and they climbed about 
his knees, roguishly and confidingly. He ever could sympathize with 
the child over its broken doll, as well as he could with a man borne 
down to earth with his sad and sorrowful bereavements. The young 




COL. E. L. STARLING. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 637 

maiden, strange with the new love springing in her innocent heart, 
and wandering over the prize, found in this plain and good man, the 
tenderest advisor and friend, a confidant more true than her old 
schoolmate, to whom she plann"ld a future in the soft brilliance of 
their moonlit chamber. This enlarged good feeling for charity as 
God made the world, and not narrowly, as man uses it, was one of 
the qualities and attributes of Col. Edmund L. Starling. All those 
who knew him and felt his kindly influence, know that it is no more 
possible to resist a kindly nature shining from a noble heart, than it is 
for the earth to turn ungrateful to the sun and refuse its plants and 
flowers its generous kiss. 

Col. Edmund L. Starling was born in Mecklenburg County, Vir- 
ginia, on the ninth day of May, 1795. Sir William Starling, of Stop- 
plesy Hall, of Bedfordshire, England, his paternal ancestor, was 
knighted in 1661, and Lord Mayor of London in 1670. The cele- 
brated William Penn, it is said, was arraigned before Lord Mayor 
Starling for non-conformiiy of his religious opinions to the accepted 
creed of the Government. William Starling, grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch, was the first man of the name who came to 
America, coming as an assistant or merchant's clerk, with his uncle, 
Benjamin Hubbard. He settled in King William County, Virginia, 
about 1740. William Starling, his son, and father of our subject, was 
born in King William County on the fourth day of September, 1756. 
He married Susanna Lyne, daughter of Col. William Lyne, of the 
same county, in 1774. They had eleven children, our subject being 
the youngest. Anne Starling, the second child, married Major John 
Holloway, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and soon afterwards 
removed to Kentucky, settling in this county. William Starling, soon 
after his marriage, removed to Mecklenburg County, Virginia, where 
he lived for many years, following the occupation of merchant and 
also serving as High Sheriff of the county. During his term of office 
he won considerable reputation for coolness and courage by the arrest 
of a notorious and dangerous character, who had long been the dread 
and annoyance of the whole country, and who, upon the occasion 
referred to, had ridden into the courtyard heavily armed, and, with 
insolent bravado, defied the officers and dared them arrest him. 

In 1794, William Starling removed to Kentucky and settled on a 
farm near Harrodsburgh, in Mercer County. He had purchased 
lands before coming there, but lost them through the conflicting and 
uncertain titles that were characteristic of those days, and which, for 
many years thereafter,were the source of much trouble and litigation, 



638 HISTORY OF HENDF.RSON COUNTY KY. 

until the Legislature, by a few general and sweeping acts, quieted the 
titles and confirmed the possession to the fortunate holders. Mr. 
Starling, in addition to his large landed interest, was the owner of a 
great many slaves, and engaged in mercantile pursuits at Harrods- 
burgh on an extensive scale, having branches of his house in Hender- 
son ;ind Frankfort. He died December 25th, 18*26; his wife, Susanna 
Lyne, died September 7th, 1802. Colonel Starling, as he was called, 
derived his title from the fact that he was selected Colonel of a 
temporary regiment, called out when Virginia was threatened with 
invasion by Benedict Arnold and his command, after his treason, and 
when he had joined the British army. He represented Mercer County 
in the Kentucky Legislature, and, according to the document under 
the seal of the State, was appointed Assistant Judge for his district 
December 18th, 1806. 

Col. Edmund Lyne Starling, the subject of this sketch, October 
2d, 1817, at Frankfort, married Ann Maria Todd. She was born 

7 7/ ^ 

March 30th, 1801, and was the third child of Judge Thomas Todd. 
Judge Todd was born in King and Queen County, Virginia ; was a 
soldier in the revolution and, in civic life, one of the most eminent 
men in the nation. He first married Miss Harris, of Pennsylvania, 
by whom he had three children. She died, and he then married a 
widow of a nephew of General Washington, who was born Lucy 
Payne, a beautiful, highly intellectual and imperious woman, sister of 
Mrs. President Madison They had two' sons. Judge Todd immi- 
grated to Kentucky«*when about twenty years of age. He chose the 
profession of the law and devoted himself so earnestly to its duties 
that he soon became known as one of the ablest lawyers in the West- 
ern country. The honors of his profession came thick and fast upon 
him. He rose to the position of Chief Justice, the highest judicial 
office of the State. No one aciiieved a greater reputation in the 
adjustment of perplexing difficulties arising out of the defective land 
laws of Virginia than Judge Todd. His success was such that Presi- 
dent Jefferson, in 1807, called him to a seat on the Supreme Federal 
Bench, a position he held until his death. Justice Story pronounced 
a beautiful tribute to his memory. A brother of Mrs. Edmund L 
Starling was Col. Charles Stewart Todd, who was on the staff of 
General Harrison and served with distinction in the War of 1812, 
was United States Minister to the court of Russia in the Harrison- 
Tyler administration, and was afterwards charge d^ affaires to South 
America. He married a daughter of the great Governor Shelby, 
Kentucky's first and fighting Governor. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 639 

Col. Edmund L. Starling, in his younger days, indeed, through- 
out his whole life, was of a gay and easy disposition, more disposed to 
enjoy the pleasures of life than settle down to business. For a 
number of years he resided in ^^ankfort. Later on he removed to 
Logan County and settled on a farm not far from his brother William, 
where he lived for several years. About the year 1830, he removed 
to Henderson County and located upon the farm now owned by Mrs. 
W. S. Elam. Fifteen years after he settled the farm known as the 
" Smith Farm," near the People's Coal Mines, on the Knoblick road, 
and built the frame residence yet to be found standing there. Col. 
John Rudy, of this county, was the contractor, and the building is a 
credit to his honesty and mechanical skill, being, as it is, one of the 
best frames in the county. 

Col. Starling was never an office seeker, but, by appointment, 
served this county, under the old Constitution, as Magistrate from. 
1835 to 1850, both years inclusive. He would have been the next 
Sheriff under the old Constitution rule. He served in many public 
trusts, such as guardian, administrator, and vestryman of his church. 

In November, 1854, Mr. Starling sold his farm to Chas. T. Star- 
ling, and having, on the twenty-first of March, 1851, purchased 
property in the town from Dr. W. B. Read, gave up farming and 
removed with his family into the town. In early times the country 
bordering along creeks was exceedingly unhealthy, and about all 
that a farmer could make, he was required to pay to doctors and 
for calomel, quinine and such medicines; for this reason, therefore, 
it is most likely Mr. Starling removed into the town. His countrv 
home was one of the happiest and most cheerful. There was hardly 
a time that it was without visiting company, gay young persons from 
the town and from far off places. 

It is seldom so many lovable traits of character are to be found 
embodied in one personage as were possessed in such an eminent 
degree by Mrs. Starling. She was a most lovable woman, full of 
heart, truth, justice, charity ; in fact, all those attributes that go to 
make a pure, noble, perfect woman. She was the light of the 
household, the anchor to which the family clung, the brightest star in 
the constellation surrounding her, and a highly cultivated and most 
intelligent lady. 

Unto Colonel and Mrs. E. L. Starling there were born eleven 
children, to-wit : Lyne, Thomas Todd, Sarah Carneal, Jane Davison, 
Elizabeth Todd, William, Charles Todd, Susanna, Ann Maria, Lucy 
Bell and Edmund Lyne, all of whom, with the exception of Charles 



640 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Todd, preceded their parents in death. Truly a sad harvest of death 
in one family. Mrs. Starling died December 15th, 1862, and was 
followed by her husband August 30th, 1869. They were both mem- 
bers of the church, Mr. Starling of the Protestant Episcopal, his 
wife of the Presbyterian. Only three of thfe children married, 
to-wit : Lyne, Sarah Carneal and Charles Todd. Lyne Starling, the 
eldest son, was born in Logan County on the twenty-third day of 
August, 1818. He died at the age of thirty-three years, having been 
married three times — first to Miriam P. Dillon, of Franklin County, a 
lady of the brightest mind and highest order of intellectual accom- 
plishments. As an artist, she ranked among the most noted amateurs. 
As a poetess and writer, she knew but few equals, and, as a lady 
calculated to adorn society, she was pre-eminently recognized and 
beloved. She died January 20th, 1841, one year and seven months 
after her marriage, leaving one son, Edmund Lyne Starling, born 
May 9th, 1840. 

Lyne Starling married, secondly, Anna Belle Walker, on the 
thirtieth day of June, 1843. She was a beautiful woman and very 
much beloved. She died November 13th, 1844, leaviog no issue. 
Five years before nis death, April 29th, 1846, Lyne married, for his 
third wife, Mary F, Allison, eldest daughter of William D. Allison, 
for many years clerk of the Circuit and County Courts of Henderson 
County. She is still living and is justly known as one of the most 
estimable of her sex, and a devoted true friend and Christian woman. 
Lyne Starling, for a number of years, was engaged in the mercantile 
trade, and enjoyed a large and extensive patronage. He was a noble, 
high-spirited man, but never enjoyed good health. He died November 
25th, 1851. By his last marriage, one child, Ann Maria, was born 
on the twenty-sixth day of January, 1849. She was as pure as a dew 
drop and as lovable as it is possible in human nature. She died 
November 22d, 1865. 

Sarah Carneal Starling, the eldest daughter, a most amiable and 
affectionate woman, fulfilling every promise of her bright youth, was 
married on the second day of January, 1849, to Henry Lyne, eldest 
son of George Lyne, and grandson of Gen'l Sam'l Hopkins, agent for 
Richard Henderson & Co., who located the town of Henderson. By 
that marriage, four children were born — George, William Starling, 
Susanna Starling, and James. George was born Sept. 20th, 1849, in 
Henderson. He married, has one child, Susanna, and is teaching 
school in Vanderburg County, Indiana, and farming on a small 
scale in Henderson County. William Starling Lyne was born January 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 641 

7th, 1853 ; married Miss Mary Meyer, daughter of Dr. J. M. Meyer, 
a leading physician of Boyle County, and, a few 3'ears after, purchased 
land in that county, built him a handsome home and located with his 
family, where he yet resides, engaged in farming and raising fine 
Jersey cattle. His wife i^ a very handsome woman, thoroughly domestic 
and very popular. They have had five children, to-wit : Charles Star- 
ling, Meyer, Oscar, Mary and William Starling, all fine looking, 
intelligent children. Susanna Starling Lyne married Jacob Swigert, 
of Frankfort, a gentleman of high order of intelligence, a thoroughly 
honest and reliable business man, much respected by all who know 
him, and in all a most estimable man. Mr. and Mrs. Swigert reside 
upon a fine blue grass farm, near Spring Station, Woodford County. 
They have had two children, Mary Hendricks and Starling, both 
bright and intelligent. Mrs. Swigert is a thorough Christian woman, 
devoted to her husband, children, relatives and friends, and is a 
most loN able persoij. 

Charles Todd Starling, fourth son of Col. Edmund L. Starling, 
was born in Logan County on the twenty-second day of September, 
1829. He, as in the case of the other children, was raised upon a 
farm, but was given the best educational advantages to be had in 
those early times, his father employing the best private teachers when 
his children were young, in order that they might be prepared to 
enter the higher grades. At the age of twelve years, young Charles 
was sent to Gambier College, Ohio, where he remained from three to 
four years. Subsequent to that time, he received educational training 
from Rev. John McCuUagh and others, until he had possessed 
himself of a liberal education. He then, for a short time, served in 
the Circuit and County Clerks' offices as deputy under William D. 
Allison. On the twenty-seventh day of February, 1851, he married 
in Louisville, Miss Maria J. Tunstall, eldest daughter of Henry J. 
Tunstall, who, for many years, held positions of important trust in 
that city and afterwards served as Councilman of Henderson for 
many years, with credit to himself and the city. Mrs. Starling was, 
and is yet, a very handsome woman, though for many years a great 
sufferer from ills the flesh is heir to. Charles T. Starling is one of 
the noblest of men, honest beyond peradventure and liberal to a fault. 
He is a devoted husband, relative and churchman. For many years 
during his manhood, he evinced but little interest in religious matters, 
but for the last twenty years or more, has been an active, earnest 
worker in the church and Sunday school. He is a member of the 
Presbyterian Church, and, a few years since, was made an Elder. 

41 



642 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

In 1867 he was elected Teller of the Farmers' Bank, and filled 
the position with such credit that, at the death of Col. L. H. Lyne, 
Cashier, in 1881, he was unanimously elected to that important 
position and is yet serving in that capacity. He has held the impor- 
tant position of City Treasurer since 1875. 

All of the remainder of Col. jCidmund L. Starling's children, eight 
in number, died unmarried. Edmund Lyne Starling, son of Lyne 
Starling and Miriam P. Dillon, and grandson of Col. Edmund L. 
Starling, whs born in the town of Henderson on the ninth day of 
May, 1840. On the sixth day of October, 1863, he married Miss 
Mollie B. Stewart, of New Orleans, a handsome, intelligent, energetic 
and most estimable woman. She, at the age of nineteen years 
became the mistress of a large household, including the care and 
management of a large number of slaves, a majority of whom were 
quite young. Her executive judgment was so marked as to attract 
the attention of her Grandfather Starling, who, upon all occasions, 
deemed it a pleasure to speak of her in a most complimentary way. 
She was born in Louisville March 31st, 1844, educated in the best 
private schools of that city, and finished her school course with Mrs. 
W. B. Nold, principal of the "Louisville Female Seminary," a noted 
educational institution. She also received the highest musical advan- 
tages offered at that time, being taught by Messrs. Gunther & Brain- 
ard, eminent instructors. 

In the seventeenth century, during the troublous times in Scot- 
land, two brothers, Patrick and Thomas Stuart, resolved to immigrate 
to America. They were of Scotch-Irish descent, and although they 
claimed to be descendants of the Royal family of Stuarts, they mutu- 
ally agreed, as they were beginning a new life, in a new country, to 
change the mode of spelling their names from Stuart to Stewart. 
Patrick settled in New York City, became very wealthy and died a 
bachelor. His brother Thomas settled in Virginia, where he married. 
He afterwards removed to Jefferson County, Kentucky. He was a 
successful farmer, accumulating considerable property, and was noted 
for his strict integrity and upright life. He was a kind hearted man, 
careless in preserving important papers and looking closely to busi- 
ness affairs. In consequence of this he lost the valuable estate of his 
brother Patrick, which he, in his old age, always claimed his heirs 
were entitled to. At one time the City of New York advertised for 
the heirs of one certain Patrick Stewart, who had left much property 
and died without issue. Nearly every family in the Union by 
the name of Stewart put in their claim, except the descendants 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 643 

of the two brothers. These descendants, like their ancestors, 
were careless about records and too wise to indulge hope, know- 
ing thev would be required to furnish positive proof, dates, etc., 
and without which . they could lay no claim to the property. One 
of Thomas Stewart's sons bore his name. Thomas, this son, on 
the thirty-first day of August 1815, married Dorothy Longest, of Jef- 
ferson County, and lived and died in the City of Louisville July 26th, 
1836, a leading and highly respected citizen. He was a successful 
contractor, having built many houses and accumulated considerable 
property. At the time of his death, he was considered wealthy, but 
placing too much confidence in mankind, and being too easily imposed 
upon, his affairs were found to be in an embarassed condition. Three 
sons survived him, Coleman W., Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Clai- 
bourne Thomas Jefferson, father of Mrs. Starling, was born in Louis- 
ville on the seventh day of September, 1818. He grew to his majority 
a brave, noble-hearted, generous man, full of life and of the happiest 
disposition. On the twenty-second day of April, 1837, he married 
Miss Mary T. Rucker, of Louisville, and unto them were born three 
children, Thomas Coleman, Jefferson and Mary Belle. Jefferson died 
in infancy. 

Thomas Coleman was born April 2Qth, 1838, and was educated 
at the Kentucky Military Institute, near Frankfort. He was a very 
handsome and most excellent young man, a devoted son and brother. 
He served in the Confederate army throughout the War of the Rebel- 
lion, enlisting in the City of New Orleans when Beauregard made his 
call for troops, prior to the battle of Shiloh. He fought at Shiloh and 
was seriously wounded. After the war he engaged in steamboating 
on the lower Mississippi, and on September 3d, 1867, died in New 
Orleans of yellow fever, away from those most dear to him, but at- 
tended by the best of nurses, and surrounded by many friends. His 
remains were removed to Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville. Captain 
Stewart, the greater part of his life was a prominent steamboatman on 
the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. In 1860 he settled with his family 
in New Orleans and engaged in business very successfully, until bro- 
ken up by the troubles incident to the war. In 1865, his health failed 
him, and while traveling through Kentucky, was stricken in Louisville, 
and died July 13th, 1865, after a few days illness. Edmund L. Starling 
and Mary B. Stewart, his wife, have had eight children born unto 
them. Edmund Lyne, Stewart, Ann Maria, Lyne, Mary Stewart, 
Thomas Stewart, Miriam and Susanna Lyne. Edmund, the eldest, was 
born July 31st, 1864 and since his seventeenth year has occupied the 



644 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

responsible position of bookkeeper in the employ of the Farmer's 
Bank, with credit to himself and great satisfaction to his superiors. 
Stewart was born on the ninth day of March, 1866, and since his fif- 
teenth year, has held a position with Thomas Soaper, in his dry goods 
emporium, not only to his credit, but to the pleasure and profit of his 
employer. This young man has shown a talent for oil painting almost, 
if not quite, equal to that of his Grandmother Starling. Without the 
aid of a teacher, graced in the art, and simply from a natural talent, 
he has produced some wonderful specimens. It seems no effort for 
him to master any subject he undertakes. Both his taste and 
touch are fully up to the standard ot artists of reputation. 

Ann Maria, eldest daughter, is an accomplished, high-spirited 
girl, and possesses a remarkable vocal talent for which she has been 
highly complimented by eminent judges. 

Mary Stuart, Mamie, as she is so called, is a bright, happy 
hearted, rosy cheeked girl, thoroughly domestic and talented. The 
three younger children are most lovable and promising. 

MALCOLM YEAMAN was born in Hardin County, Kentucky^ 
and became a resident of Henderson in 1863, being then just past his 
twenty-first year and havino^ recently married and obtained his law 
license. He at once entered into the practice of law in partnership 
with his brother, Harvey Yearaan, who soon afterwards removed to 
Louisville, Kentucky. 

Mr. Yeaman has resided in Henderson continuously since 1863, 
and has devoted his life to the study and practice of his chosen pro- 
fession. If judged by those things that are usually supposed to con- 
stitute the best of success in professional life — faithfulness to those who 
entrust their affairs to his keeping, a steady adherence and increase of 
clientage, from which exclusively he has accumulated a moderate estate, 
the confidence and esteem of the community in which he has lived— 
then his career as a lawyer has been an eminent success. Mr. Yeaman 
has never been tempted by the allurements of wealth to enter into any 
collateral business or speculation, and, although always identified with 
the political party having the ascendency in the State, he has never 
held or sought public office, but has ever been content with the honors 
and emoluments brought to him by the legitimate pursuit of his pro 
fession. 

His father, Stephen Minor Yeaman, was a gentleman of educa- 
tion, culture and refinement, but, dying at rather an early age, he left 
but little estate for the support of a large family of children, the oldest 
of whom had hardly more than reached manhood. His mother, whose 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 645 

maiden name was Lucretia Helm, still survives, approaching her 
eightieth year, and retaining in a remarkable degree, the full vigor of 
a. bright intellect. Upon her Revolved, in a large measure, after the 
death of her husband, the education and rearing of a family of six sons 
and one daughter : John H. Yeaman, who studied for the Baptist minis- 
try and in a few years died at the house of his brother Malcolm, soon 
after he settled in Henderson ; George H. Yeaman, who after attain- 
ing to eminence at the bar in Kentucky, served two terms in Congress, 
was six years minister to Copenhagen, then settled in New York City, 
where he is now actively engaged in the practice of law; William Pope 
Yeaman, now one of the most influential Baptist Ministers in the State 
of Missouri; Harvey Yeaman, who practiced law in Henderson, re- 
moved to Louisville, and afterwards died in Colorado, where he had 
gone in search of health, and is still affectionately remembered by the 
people of this county; Malcolm Yeaman, the subject of this notice, 
and Caldwell Yeaman, who studied law with his brother Malcolm, re- 
moved to Colorado, where he soon took high rank as a lawyer, en- 
gaged for several years in a large and lucrative practice, was the effi- 
cient promoter of some of the most useful and successful enterprizes 
of his section of the State, and has for several years filled the office 
of Circuit Judge. Mary Lucretia was the youngest child and only 
daughter of the family, who, just as she was blooming into young 
womanhood, died of the same disease as that to which her brother had 
fallen a victim. 

Malcolm Yeaman married Julia Van Pradells Moore, the daugh- 
ter of Dr. John R. Moore, who was for many years a leading physic- 
ian in Louisville. Dr. Moore removed to Pettis County, Mo., a short 
time before the breaking out of the late war, where, amidst the excite- 
ment and turmoil of the civil strife that characterized that region more 
than almost any other west of the Alleghanies, Young Yeaman, not 
yet twenty-one, with his whole estate and prospects represented by a 
half sheet of paper on which was written his law license, was mar- 
ried. To the sterling character, excellent judgment, and accom- 
plishments of Mrs. Yeaman are due in great measure, the success 
that has blessed her husband. 

Under their roof, here in Henderson, have been born unto them 
five sons and two daughters, John Rochester Yeaman, Marion Van 
Predells Yeaman, Lelia Triplett Yeaman, Malcolm Hodge Yeaman, 
Harvey Yeaman, James Moore Yeaman and Julia Moore Yeaman. 



646 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

PAUL JONES MARKS.— The subject of this sketch, the only 
son of Samuel R. Marrs, of Virginia, and Rachel Stinson, of Indiana, 
was born in Posey County, Indiana, on the twenty-eighth day of Feb- 
ruary, 1838. His father, Samuel R. Marrs, left his place of nativity 
when quite young to seek a fortune in the far West, as hundreds of 
pioneers who had preceded him. He traveled by horse and on foot over 
mountains of rock and valleys of mud, never once looking back to the 
home of his birth, or trembling beneath the dangers that met him at 
every turn of an unguarded wild road. Mr. Marrs' journey was as suc- 
cessful as he could wish under the trying circumstances, and after 
many days' of travel he found, as he regarded, a suitable camping 
ground for life, in what is now known as Posey County, Indiana. 
Here he settled and went to work in earnest. When in his eighteenth 
year, he married Miss Rachel Stinson, a lady remarkable for her per- 
sonal beauty, fine physique and domestic character. From the union 
of these two young loving hearts there came into the world two chil- 
dren, Paul J. and Mary, who in after life married George M. Barnett, 
of Henderson County. A short time after the birth of their youngest 
child, Mr. Marrs died. A few years subsequent to his death, his 
widow married Captain Payne Dixon, of Henderson County, and with 
her two children removed to his home in this county. Here at the 
age of six years young Marrs found a new home, and there he lived 
unti'l 1850 or '51, when he began life's journey on his own account. 
His education was exceedingly limited, the only opportunity afforded 
him being that of countv schools in Indiana and Kentuckv, but he im- 
proved every hour's opportunity allowed him. At the age of thirteen 
or fourteen, young Marrs removed from his country home into the 
town, and commenced his business life as a clerk in the store house of 
Wilson & Ingram, at that time one of the leading dry goods firms of 
the town. He continued with this firm for three years, when he ac 
cepted a clerkship with Ira Delano, the then leading druggist of the 
town. At the end of two years he left Delano and accepted a clerk- 
ship with George Lyne, druggist. We next find him with L. C. Dal- 
lam, Dallam & Soaper, Allen & Hall, and then in business for himself, 
under the firm name of Cromwell & Marrs. 

At the breaking out of the war Mr. Marrs sold his interest in 
the drug house of Cromwell & Marrs, and during the latter part of 
1861 enlisted as a private under Colonel Adam Johnson, Confederate 
Army. During his army life Captain Marrs was engaged in many 
skirmishes and several battles. In 1862, he with others, was cap- 
tured and sent to prison at Evansville ; from Evansville he was sent 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 647 

to Camp Morton, Indiana, where he remained one 3^ear, from thence 
he was sent to Johnson's Island, and a short time thereafter to 
Fortress Monroe, where, in 1863, he was exchanged and returned to 
his command. During his^term of service. Captain Marrs was pro- 
moted to the rank of Captain, and was made quarter master of the 
command. At the close of the war he returned to Henderson, sur- 
rendered himself to Captain Platter, then in command of the post, 
took the oath, and from that day to this has remained loyal to the Gov- 
ernment, and proven one of the most successful of business men. 

On the eleventh day of may, 1872, Captain Marrs married Miss 
Juliet Rankin, granddaughter of Dr. Adam Rankin, one of the early 
pioneer physicians to this part of Kentucky. They have had three 
children, William R., Juliet and Mary, all living, bright and promising. 
After the close of the war he clerked for a time with Holloway & 
Hopkins, and subsequently associated himself with Green Marshall 
& Co., m the wharfboat and commission business, including tobacco 
sales, until 1882. During that time he had charge of the large wharf- 
boat and transfer of freight to and from the boat and warehouse. In 
1882 he sold his interest and invested with one or two others in the 
telephone enterprise. Under his management this enterprise grew 
from a small beginning to a corporation of wealth and power. He 
was one of the organizers of the Great Southern Telegraph and Tele- 
phone Company, and from 1882 to 1885 was engaged in establishing 
the service in Nashville, New Orleans and other Southern cities. He 
is at this time the owner of twenty-five thousand dollars of stock in 
that company, and is its Vice President. In 1882 he located in Nash- 
ville, and there remained until 1885 ; he returned to Henderson, 
purchased property and settled down. In July 1885, Captain Marrs 
was elected a Director of the Henderson Cotton Mills, and by the 
Directory elected Secretary and Treasurer, clothed with full authority 
to purchase all material for the mill and to sell its produce, a business 
confidence most worthily bestowed. In conclusion, it is no over-drawn 
picture to say, that Captain Marrs has proven himself one of the most 
enterprising and successful business men of his day and age; to use an 
every day expression, he began life's journey "flat footed and alone," 
at the age of thirteen or fourteen years, full of vim, pluck and energy, 
but no money. Undaunted by the frowns of a grasping and crushing 
world, he has fought his way, till to-day, after thirty- fiv^e years of un- 
tiring industry, faithful application, integrity and honesty, we find him 
even more spirited and vigorous than when a young man, and pos- 
sessed of a competency that has given him a reputation far beyond the 



»48 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

limits of his State. A far-seeing, far-searching mind, coupled with an 
unlimited will power, and endeavor, has brought him from the hum- 
blest of life to the front rank of men of capacity and commercial abil- 
ity. To sum up : a poor boy with few friends, scanty education, and 
no wealth behind him, by his own exertions has produced a self-made 
man, worthy of all confidence and credit. Captain Marrs, though- a 
strong Democrat, has never been an applicant for office. At the in- 
stance of many of his friends he was elected to his first office, City 
Councilman, on Monday, August 8th, 1887. He served a number of 
years as wharfmaster. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, but 
by no means an active participant in its mystic ceremonies. Though 
thoroughly moral in all he does, entertaining views akin to social or- 
der and religious teachings, the Captain is not connected with any 
church. His bounty in behalf of those near and dear to hun has 
known no limit — very few persons aside from himself know the extent 
of his benefactions. 

GENERAL THOMAS POSEY.— The subject of this brief his- 
tory was born in Westmoreland County, Va., July 9th, 1750. He 
removed to Botetourt County in 1769 ; was Quartermaster in Gover- 
nor Dunmore's army, which made an expedition against the Indians 
in 1774, and was engaged in the battle at Point Pleasant, October 
10th. He enlisted early in 1776 in the Revolution, and received his 
commission as Captain, March 20th, in the Seventh Virginia Regi- 
.hent, and, during this year, rendered active service against Lord 
Dunmore at Gwynn's Island. After Dunmore's forces were driven 
from the Island, he was stationed there until late in September, 1776, 
and then went into winter quarters at Williamsburg. The next 
Januarv he was ordered to New Jersey to join the main army under 
General Washington, and, after some delay, reached Middlebrook on 
the twelfth of April, and, on the next day, covered (with his command) 
the retreat of General Lincoln from Boundbrook. Shortly after this, 
Morgan's rifle regiment was organized, officers and men having been 
selected from a large portion of the army then encamped between the 
mountains at Middlebrook. He was selected as one of the Captains 
of this regiment, and from this time was engaged in the most arduous 
and dangerous duties of the great struggle. In the engagement at 
Piscataway, New Jersey, following Cornwallis after his evacuation of 
New Brunswick, his company bore the brunt of the fight, having been 
at one time surrounded by the enemy and nearly cut off from his 
regiment. He at once ordered a well directed fire upon one part of 
the opposing line, thus opening a passage through which he made 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 649 

good his retreat. The rifle regiment was soon after annexed to Gate's 
command, and was present at the memorable battles of Bemis 
Heights or Stillwater, on the nineteenth of September and seventh of 
October, and, ten days later, -§aw the surrender at Saratoga. He now 
rejoined the forces under Washington, near Germantown, and did 
constant duty on the enemy's line until the army quartered at Valley 
Forge and he stationed at Radnor, nearer Philadelphia. In the spring 
of 1778, he took command of the rifle regiment during Morgan's 
absence and was engaged in frequent skirmishes. He was raised to 
the rank of Major, and, at the battle of Monmouth, acted under La- 
Fa\'ette, being among the number that led the attack. He next 
assisted Col. Wm. Butler, of the eleventh Pennsylvania regiment, in 
relieving the settlement at Cherry Valley and Schoharie, which had 
been ruthlessly visited by the Indians and Tories. The Indians were 
driven far back to the lakes and several of their towns burned. On 
his return he was directed to lead the eleventh Virginia regiment to 
Middlebrook, where he was given command of all the light infantry 
then serving against the enemies' lines. At the reduction of Stony 
Point, his valor shone out conspicuously, he being the first to scale 
the fort and enter the main work, leading the charge upon a battery 
of two twenty-four pounders, then playinp- on our left column and give 
the watchword, " The fort's our own ! " upon which the enemy threw 
down their arms and cried for mercy, shouting, " Spare us, brave 
Americans, spare us ! " after which not a man was killed. Gen. Wayne 
and a gallant French Colonel were awarded medals and swords by 
Congress, together with a public expression of thanks, and Major 
Posey was not spoken of until complaint was laid before Gen. Wash- 
ington ; this led to a second letter from Gen. Wayne, reporting upon 
the affair, upon which John Marshall, afterwards Chief Justice, com- 
menting, writes : " Was Gen. Wayne regardless of you ? he ought, I 
think, to have said more for his own sake. He committed an error 
in omitting you. This he did not attempt to correct till your com- 
plaints obliged him to do it, and even then he said nothing which he 
could possibly avoid." He was present at the siege and surrender of 
Cornwallis at Yorktown, and, on being promoted to Lieutenant 
Colonel, recruited a regiment in Virginia; then, in the winter of 1781 
and 1782, marched to South Carolina to join Green's forces, thence 
to Georgia to assist Gen. Wayne. Here he had two successful 
engagements. After the evacuation of Savannah, he returned to 
South Carolina, and, when the British withdrew from Charleston, was 
sent into the city to prevent the depredations of the departing troops. 



650 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



When peace came in 1783. he returned to Virginia, married and 
settled in Spottsylvania County. He served as Magistrate and County 
Lieutenant of that county. After the death of his wife, he was 
married to Mrs. Thornton {nee Miss Alexander). In 1793 he was 
commissioned Brigadier General in the U. S. army and served some 
time under Major General Wayne. After his resignation he removed 
to the State of Kentucky and settled in Henderson County. Here he 
served four years as Lieutenant Gov^ernor and Speaker of the State 
Senate. In 1808 he received his commission of Major General of 
Kentucky State Militia. In 181/H»«- removed a part of his family to 
the Opelousas country, in the Louisiana territory. In 1812 he was 
appointed to represent the newly elected State in the United States 
Senate, in which capacity he served until 1813, when he was commis- 
sioned Governor of Indiana Territorv by President Madison. In 
1^1806^Indiana was made a State, after which Governor Posey was 
appointed Indian agent and continued in this service until the time 
of his death, March 18th, 1818. His grave is at Shawneetown, 111., 
where he died during a visit to his son-in-law, Gen. Joseph M. Street. 

Gen. Posey was a member of the Presbyterian Church and a 
devoted Mason. During the latter part of his life he became an 
efficient member of several Bible Societies and much interested in 
supplying the poor and unfortunate with the Holy Scriptures. 

He is said to have been a man of remarkable physique and 
wonderful strength and agility of the body, singularly handsome, 
erect, tall and commanding in figure, striking suavity of manners, 
watchful, patient and diligent in his undertakings, succcessful in his 
business. He bequeathed to his children an ample fortune, and to 
his countrymen an untarnished reputation and a noble example. 

^ Gen. Posey was the father of nine children, as .follows : Major 
Fayette Posey, Lloyd Posey, William , Posey, Thornton..!Posey, Thomas 
Posey, Maria Posey, Alexander Posey, Washington Posey and Sarah 

^Ann Posey. ctAu-^'^^i fj l(,^U^C{ 

JOSEPH ADAMS. — The gentleman of whom this brief sketch 
treats was born on the fifth day of January, 1817, in the town of West 
Cambridge, Mass., near Boston. After having received a liberal educa- 
tion for those early times, he was seized with the rheumatism, and, at 
the advice of his physician, went on a sea voyage, hoping to be bene- 
fitted thereby. In October, 1838, at the age of nineteen years, he 
landed at the City of Havana, Cuba, where he remained for several 
weeks. He left the Island of Cuba and sailed for New Orleans, where 
he resided until hearing of a gentleman who was indebted to him and 



' rv-^\ 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 651 

who it was told to him was then living in Evansville, Indiana. In or- 
der to effect a settlement with the party, Mr. Adams embarked on 
board of a steamer and started for that place. Several days after- 
wards he arrived at Evansville to find that the object of his search 
was not to be found. He then shipped as clerk on board of the steam 
boat William Glasgow, and made one or two trips between New Or- 
leans and St. Louis, and then New Orleans and Pittsburgh, On his 
last trip from New Orleans to St. Louis, the steamer caught fire and 
burned to the water line. Our subject was the last person to leave 
the burning vessel, and it was by dint of the keenest strategy that he 
succeeded in gaining the shore unharmed. He then returned to 
Ev nsville, where, unexpectedly, he met Mr. Asa Bement, who had for 
many years lived a near neighbor to his home in Massachusetts. The 
two soon became fast friends, and, in after years, transacted a large 
amount of business mutually agreeable. 

On the twenty-eighth day of November, 1839, he contracted to 
come to Henderson and enter the store house of Dr. Paul Sears, who 
was then merchandising in the old frame house known as the " Old 
Rouse," and yet standing near the corner of Second and Water 
Streets. He agreed to remain here only two or three weeks, but, at the 
expiration of the time, he had become favorably impressed with the lo- 
cation and effected a purchase of the entire stock of Dr. Sears. He 
then engaged in business in his own name, and was soon drawing a 
large and profitable trade. He first reduced the price of several lead- 
ing articles fully fifty per cent, below what they were then being sold 
by other merchants, and this liberality brought down upon him the 
maledictions of his neighbor merchants. Nevertheless, he had a 
head of his own, and conducted his business affairs according to his 
idea of trade, and, of course, succeeded in drawing to himself in a short 
time a very large paying patronage. On the twenty-eighth day of 
November, 1844, in the frame residence now owned and occupied by 
A. B. Sights, on Center, between Elm and Green Streets, Mr. Adams 
married Miss Eleanor Smallwood Grayson, a lady of marked personal 
beauty, and great popularity in social circles. Unto them were 
born eight children, five sons and three daughters; only four of this 
number are now living, the others dying when young. Those living 
are Joseph, William, John and Robert ; Robert, the youngest, married 
Miss Mattie Elam, and has one child, Baxter Harrison, handsome 
and intelligent. The other sons are unmarried. , Mr. Adams was 
devotedly attached to his family, and the writer knows what a terrible 
blow the death of his last and only daughter was to him. He spoke 



652 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

frequently of her, even though she had been dead for years, and it 
really seemed that the memory of her was continually upon his mind. 
I have frequently thought that the tenor of his life was completely 
changed in her death. In 1844 Mr. Adams purchased the old lot 
on the northeast corner of Main and Second Streets, and built the 
two-story brick yet standing, and used it for years as a grocery store. 
At the time of its completion it was the largest store room in the town, 
and the only one having an open front. In this building he opened 
the first and only exclusive grocery ever kept in Henderson up to that 
time. He continued in the grocery trade until the year 1854, at which 
time he sold out and purchased the tobacco stemmery, situated on 
Upper Green Street, and built a short time before by David Nunn. 
To this, a short time after, he built the large addition fronting on 
Green Street, and in partnership with Colonel John Rudy, engaged 
largely in the purchase and stemming of tobacco for the foreign mar- 
kets. This partnership continued to the year 1860, when by mutual 
consent it was dissolved, Mr. Adams continuing the business. In 
186:2 Mr. Adams purchased of Colonel Rudy, his magnificent farm, ly- 
ing one and one-half miles out on the Owensboro Road, and contain- 
ing seven hundred and five acres. This splendid property constitutes 
not only one of the most valuable farms in Henderson County, but in 
the entire State of Kentucky. During this same year he completed 
and occupied his magnificent residence, on the corner of Washington 
and Adams Streets, certainly one of the handsomest and most com- 
plete buildings to be found in the West. Mr, Adams continued in the 
tobacco trade up to a few years prior to his death, when he retired, and 
devoted the remamder of his life to his farming interest, which was 
conducted on a large scale, including the large landed esta'e of which 
mention has been made, and Diamond Island. 

Like all men of this sublunary sphere, Mr. Adams had his ups and 
downs, his trials and vexations, yet his entire life was characterized 
by a becoming modesty, honesty of purpose and a desire to live and 
let live. During his life he filled many ofBces of public trust, nota- 
bly President and Director of the Farmer's Bank for many years, and 
member of the City Council for several terms. He was averse to 
office holding, yet he never swerved from a duty his constituents 
choose to impose upon him, but, on the contrary, accepted and execu- 
ted the trust with fidelity and unflinching devotion, that made him a 
successful candidate for every ofilice for which he was named. Mr. 
Adams died on the night of the nineteenth of July, 1884, leaving to 
his wife and four sons who survive him a handsome estate. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 653 

JOSEPH OSCAR CLORE was born in Pewee Valley, Oldham 
County, Kentucky, on the thirteenth day of May, 1844. At an early 
age he was sent to the Noble Butler school at Louisville, and subse- 
quently to Hanov.er College, Indiana. He remained some time at 
Hanover and was then sent to Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, 
where he completed his education in 1866, a member of the senior 
class. On the twelfth day of November, 1879, at the home of her 
stepfather, Captain Sam Steele, in Franklin County, Kentucky, Mr. 
Clore married Miss Emma Pilkington, a lineal descendant of the 
noted McDowell family. One child, Mary McDowell, was born unto 
them. On January 12th, 1884, Mrs. Clore departed this life. 

While at Danville, in 1866, Mr. Clore attached himself to the 
Presbyterian Church, and has continued a worthy member in this 
church to this time. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
having taken the degrees in both the Blue Lodge and Chapter. He 
has served his people several terms as a member of the City Council, 
with credit to himself and to the advancement of the city's interest. 
He is a Democrat and an active worker when necessity demands it 
of him. 

In 1870 Mr. Clore established a planing mill — the first ever in 
Henderson — on the corner of Green and Fourth Cross Streets, and at 
the old frame corner Main and Fourth Cross Streets, where he 
carried on an extensive business up to 1876. During that year he 
removed his machinery and mill fixtures to his father's saw mill, on 
the corner of Sixth and Water Streets, and continued to add new 
machinery and other appliances until, at this time, he is at the head 
of one of the finest establishments to be found in the West. He is 
engaged with his father and brothers in the general lumber business 
and controls an immense trade. 

WILLIAM McAFEE HANNA, M. D., Physician and Surgeon, 
was born September 25th, 1837, in Shelby County, Kentucky. His 
father, John S. Hanna, was a farmer by pursuit and a man of note m 
his county. His mother was Miss Jane King, of Harrodsburg, Ky., 
her family being among the early settlers of the place. The Doctor 
inherits the Scotch-Irish blood, the best blood known to the human 
race. Dr Hanna received a fine collegiate education, having 
graduated with honor at Centre College, Danville, in 1858. He began 
the study of medicine under Dr. A. S. Frederick, at Shelbyville, 
entered the medical department of University at Louisville, and 
received the degree of M. D. from that institution in 1862. A short 
time subsequent, he located in Henderson and began the practice of 



654 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

medicine, but the alluring charms of war were too much for him to 
withstand. Being endowed of a spirited, bold and fearless nature 
and of warm Southern blood, he soon entered the army and served, 
both as a soldier and in the medical department, until the close of 
the war, participating in many of the great battles. 

He served under Col. Adam R. Johnson until his capture in 
November. When exchanged in December following, he was assigned 
to Col. Basil Duke's regiment, Morgan's brigade, as Assistant Sur 
geon and accompanied that distinguished cavalryman in most of his 
adventurous raids. In the fall of 1865, at the close of the war, he 
returned to Henderson and resumed the duties of his profession, in 
which he has proven exceptionally successful, having established a 
fine practice and taken rank among the foremost physicians of the 
State. Dr. Hanna has served for several years as a member of the 
City Board of Health, and has been prominent in the Henderson and 
district medical societies, frequently serving as presiding officer. As 
a public spirited and \ aluable citizen, he stands deservedly high. He 
is a member of the Presbyterian Church and has held the office of 
Elder for eleven or twelve years. He has ever been actively engaged 
in furthering the best interests of his church and community. He 
was mainly instrumental in the building of the First Church Chapel, 
located on Green Street, in the Third Ward, and is the Superintendent 
of the Sunday School. He is a member of the Knights Templar, but 
devotes the greater part of his unoccupied time to the good of his 
church. He is a man of genial and attractive manners and prepos- 
sessing person. Dr. Hanna was married in 1865, at Shelbyville, to 
Miss Mary Matthews, daughter of Rev. W. C. Matthews, a brother of 
Rev. John Matthews, who, at one time, was in charge of the First 
church at this place. He has a happy family, a wife of high social 
accomplishments and unqualifiedly a superior woman in every sense 
of the word, and three children, Mary, John and Janie. 

MAJOR JOHN J. REEVE.— The subject of this sketch, a son 
of Samuel Reeve and Elizabeth Castrie, was born in Richmond, Vir- 
ginia, on the twenty-first day of February, 1841. His Grandfather 
Reeve was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, and his father a 
soldier in the War of 1812. His maternal ancestors were Scotch and 
lived in Scotland. Major Reeve was highly educated, having grad- 
uated from the University of Virginia, one of, if not the most, noted 
colleges in this great country. Prior to his coming to Henderson, in 
1868, he earned a livelihood by teaching in his native State. At the 
outbreaking of the War of the Rebellion he entered the Confederate 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 655 

army, and served with distinction to its surrender. He served in the 
army of the Tennessee, under Generals Johnson and Hood, first as 
Captain and assistant Adjutant General, and was afterwards promoted 
to the rank of Major, and served as Major and assistant Adjutant 
General. He was in all of the engagements of the army of the Ten- 
nessee, and was captured with General Pemberton's army at the sur- 
render of Vicksburg, on the fourth day of July, 1863. Immediately 
after his arrival in Henderson, he, in partnership with his brother, D. 
J. Burr Reeve, under the firm name of D. J. Burr Reeve & Co., en- 
gaged in the purchase and stemming of tobacco. A short time after- 
ward the firm erected a large stemmery, and have been one of the 
largest purchasing firms in the city. There is, perhaps, no firm in the 
city that expends an equal amount annually in the purchase of to- 
bacco. On the fifteenth day of August, 1871, Major Reeve married 
Mrs. Sue. B. D. Powell, daughter of Governor Archibld Dixon, a 
lady whose excellent traits of character and domestic and social in- 
telligence won to her a host of friends. There were four children born 
unto them, Margaret C, Mary G., John Burr and Kate Maxwell. 
Mrs. Reeve died February 28th, 1884. Kate Maxwell Reeve died 
August 31st, 1884, and John Burr Reeve died October 24th, 1884. 
Major Reeve has never been an office seeker, but by appointment 
served one or more terms as a member of the Public and High School 
Boards of the city. Being highly educated himself, he was emi- 
nently fitted for the position, and earned an enviable record during his 
term of service. He is a consistent, iirm, and devoted member of the 
Episcopal Church, and has been for several years an active working 
member of the vestry. In business matters. Major Reeve is active, 
prudent, painstaking, geaerous and noble hearted. He is the embodi- 
ment of honesty, high character and fearless manhood. 

PHILLIP B. MATTHEWS is a native of Prince Edward County, 
Virginia, and was born on the twenty-seventh day of May, 1804. In 
his nineteenth year he came to JCentucky, arriving in Henderson in 
January, 1823. Here he remained for four years, spending most of his 
time, however, in Hopkins County, teaching school. In December, 
1827, he returned to Virginia, and there remained for fourteen years, 
during which time he made frequent visits to Henderson County, com- 
ing as often as twice a year. In 1840, he settled in Henderson, en- 
gaged in business, and has made this his permanent home from that 
time to this. For a number of years Mr. Matthews wus actively en- 
gaged in the tobacco business with Mr. William Soaper, and when the 
word actively is used, it is meant in its broadest acceptation. Mr. 



656 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Matthews has all of his life proven himself an indefatigable worker, 
devoting his whole time and talent to the interest of those with whom 
he was engaged, and building lor himself, by economy and prudence a 
competency to comfort him in his old age. His life has been charac- 
terized by honesty of purpose, strict morality, and a profound respect 
for all Christian and social graces. For fifteen or eighteen years he 
has engaged as a fiduciary officer, in the management of estates, as 
administrator, commissioner, trustee, etc., in all of which he has shown 
marked ability and business aptitude. Mr. Mathews was, for a num- 
ber of years, a devoted Mason, but his age now prevents him from giv- 
ing the order that attention he would otherwise love to. He is a mem- 
ber — and has been for a number of years— of the Presbyterian Church. 
He has served the city as councilman, and one term, 1867, '68, as 
Mayor, in both instances, with entire credit to himself and to the 
building up of the city. Mr. Matthews has twice married, first on the 
eighteenth day of July, 1852, to Mrs. Frances Craig, and the second to 
Miss Fanny J. Poyles, on the first day of February, 1876. He is un, 
doubtedly the most active man of his age in this county. 

HON. MONTGOMERY MERRITT, lawyer and soldier, was 
born in Todd County, Kentucky, in October, 1845, and received his 
early education from public and private schools of that county, gradu. 
ating at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, as valedictorian 
of his class. The father of our subject, Daniel Ross Merritt, a phy- 
sician and farmer, was born in Williamson County, Tennessee, in the 
year 1800, and died in 1887. He was married three times. The 
mother of our subject was born in Russellville. Logan ,County, Ky., 
in the year 1811, and died in Todd County in 1885. She was the 
third wife and married in 1836. In May, 1861, under the huzzas of 
the South for separation, his hot young blood was kindled into a 
flame, and, without regard for his tender age, enlisted in the First 
Kentucky Infantry, Confederate service, for one year. At that time 
he was only sixteen years of age. He was engaged in many minor 
contests, and, in the fall of 1861, was discharged from the service on 
account of physical disability. He returned to his home and remained 
until the fall of Fort Donnelson, when he rejoined the ;irmy, this time 
with General John H. Morgan. He accompanied Morgan in all of 
his raids, and, in a sanguinary engagement at Russellville, was shot 
by a Minie ball in the shoulder. He was with Morgan on his Indiana 
and Ohio raid and was captured at Buffington's Island, July 21st, 
1863. He was sent a prisoner to Camp Douglas, Chicago, and 
from there, in February, 1865, on to Richmond, Virginia, for exchange. 
He surrendered at the disbandment in 1865. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 657 

On leaving college, Mr. Merritt immediately entered into the prac- 
tice of law, and, in 1869, removed to Henderson and formed a co-part- 
nership with Judge Samuel B. Vance, which continued up to the time of 
Mr. Vance's removal to Evansvtile, Indiana, some years afterward. Mr. 
Merritt has never sought office, but, in 1877, was nominated and 
elected to represent Henderson County in the Legislature of 1877 and 
1878 without any particular effort on his part. 

Mr. Merritt has been twice married — first, in 1871, to Miss Mary 
Field Green, of Lebanon, Tennessee, and, secondly, to Miss Eliza 
Alves, of Henderson, on the twenty-sixth day of December, 1877. In 
relio-ion he is a Presbyterian, having been a member of that church 
for twenty years. He is a member of the order of the Knights of 
Pythias. He was mainly instrumental in the organization of the 
Planters' National Bank and has been its President from its begin- 
ning. Always a close observer of men and things, he has ever been 
a shrewd calculator of values in business matters, which fact his 
present happy worldly condition amply attests. A man of excellent 
social powers, entertaining and instructive, sensible and dignified, 
he has, by his easy and affable manners, drawn about himself a circle 
of warm, personal friends, without, in the slightest degree, engender- 
ing that undue familiarity which is the ever sure attendant of dimin- 
ished popular appreciation. Courteous, kind and considerate in his 
bearing towards others, and charitable where charity is deserved, he 
is, and always has been, in every sense of the word, a worthy, exem- 
plary citizen. As a practitioner, he stands at the head of the bar, 
and no better evidence of his legal work can be asked than is attested 
in his being the advisor and retained attorney for several large and 
important corporations. 

CAMPBELL HAUSSMAN JOHNSON was born in the City 
of Henderson on the ninth day of February, 1844. He is the youngest 
child of Dr. Thomas J. Johnson and Juliet S. Rankin, and was named 
tor Mrs. Campbell Haussman, wife of John Haussman, first clerk of 
Henderson County. Dr. Johnson, father of the subject of our sketch, 
was born in Franklin County and came to Henderson in 1819. Juliet 
S. Rankin, mother of our subject, was a daughter of Dr. Adam 
Rankin, one of the pioneers to this county. By the marriage of Dr. 
Johnson, eight children were born— Ben, Bettie, Adam R., Thomas 
J., William S. and Campbell H. Two died in infancy. The subject 
of this sketch, in early life, entered the drug store of Ira Delano, 
where he remained until the breaking out of the war, and, at the age 

42 



658 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

of seventeen years, enlisted in the Union army, a member of 
Captain Cooper's battery of artillery. Failing to recruit the necessary 
number of men, Captain Cooper's company was merged into Colonel 
Shackelford's Twenty-fifth Kentucky Infantry. Upon the formation 
of the regiment, young Johnson was made Commissary of Company 
*' F," and then Orderly Sergeant of Company " D." The Twenty-fifth, 
after the battle of Shiloh, was consolidated with the Seventeenth 
Kentucky, Col. John H. McHenry commanding, and young Johnson 
was made Second Lieutenant of Company " E." About this time he 
was stricken by partial paralysis of the left side and was sent back to 
Kentucky. He was placed on detached duty at Park Barracks, 
Louisville, as Adjutant. He was frequently engaged on special duty 
in bearing messages and detective service. In August, 1862, finding 
his health still impaired, he tendered his resignation, and, for several 
months, filled the position of mail agent on one or the other of the 
then Louisville and Henderson mailboats. Returning to Henderson 
he entered the grocery and dry goods store of Semonin & Tisserand, 
where he remained a short time. He then studied bookkeeping for a 
time at the Louisville Commercial College. Returning to Henderson 
again, he entered the drug store of Lyne & Johnson, where he 
remained until January, 1865. During that month he accepted a 
position in the prescription drug store of Dr. T. G. Chiles, at St. 
Louis, where he remained until called home by the illness of his 
father. On the seventeenth day of July, 1865, he and his brother 
William formed a copartnership under t?he firm name of W. S. John 
son & Bro., and purchased the stock of F. B. Cromwell. 

On the sixteenth day of May, 1867, Mr. Johnson was married to 
Miss Fannie Lee Evans, third daughter of Thomas Evans and grand- 
daughter of Rev. Thomas Evans, a pioneer preacher of the Methodist 
Church. Six children have been born unto them, three boys and three 
girls. The eldest son died in infancy. There are now living, Camp- 
bell H., Evans F., Fannie, Henrietta and Bettie R. 

In February, 1880, the firm of W. S. Johnson & Bro. purchased 
the entire stock of books, stationery, etc., owned by B.C. Redford, 
and, under the fi.m name of C. H. Johnson & Bro., added largely 
thereto and commenced business. Subsequently they purchased a 
complete job printing outfit, and, for several years, carried on an 
extensive business in that line. On March 18th, 1886, the two 
brothers exchanged interests, W. S. Johnson taking the drug store and 
C. H. Johnson the book store. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 659 

Mr. Johnson is a member, and, for seventeen years, a Deacon in 
the Presbyterian Church, and a zealous Mason. He is a working 
Mason in the best sense of that term. He was initiated into Jerusa- 
lem Lodge, No. 9, HendersoiiF, in January, 1867, passed in February 
and raised in March of the same year. He was elected Junior Warden 
December 27th, 1870 ; elected Worshipful Master December 27th, 
1872, and re-elected December, 1873. He served on the Committee 
on Lodges under dispensation in the Grand Lodge of 1873, and was 
appointed Grand Marshal at the same meeting ; Junior Grand Warden 
in 1874 and Senior Grand Warden in October, 1875 ; Deputy Grand 
Master in October, 1876, and Most Worshipful Grand Master in Oc- 
tober, 1877. The Grand Lodge, at this meeting, passed a resolution 
making it the duty of the Grand Master to enforce the payment of the 
special tax levied upon the subordinate Lodges for the benefit of " The 
Masonic Widows' and Orphans' Home of Kentucky." In the per- 
formance of this duty imposed by the Grand Lodge, Grand Master 
Johnson was forced to deal promptly and severely with a number of 
Subordinate Lodges, and even arrest their charters ; but, by his 
prompt and decisive action, insubordination was checked in a very 
short time, and, ere the next meeting of the Grand Lodge, almost all 
of the rebellious Lodges were induced by him to pay the tax and 
return to their allegiance to the Grand Lodge. The Board of Direc. 
tors of *'The Home " were so much pleased with this happy termina- 
tion of affairs that they hurried the completion of " The Home " that 
Grand Master Johnson should have the pleasure and honor of dedi- 
cating this noble charity, which he did on the twenty-third day of 
October, 1878, in the presence of several thousand citizens and mem- 
bers of the fraternity. From a New York Masonic paper the follow- 
ing is taken : • 

" As Grand Master, he wielded the gavel with a grace and intelligence 
that dignified the position, magnified the office, expedited the business and 
gave the craft both pleasure and profit. Notwithstanding he is the youngest 
man who has ever reached the Grand Master's chair in Kentucky, his admin- 
istration, tuil of difficult and perplexing work, gave general satisfaction, and 
he retired from his arduous labors with his cup full to overflowing with con- 
gratulations upon his successful career as Grand Master. The elegant steel 
engraving, which is presented with this sketch, was placed in over two 
thousand copies of the printed proceedings of the Grand Lodge for the year 
1878 — a compliment never before paid a Grand Master." 

After receiving the capitular degrees of Masonry, Mr. Johnson 
was anxious to attain to the orders of Knighthood, and as there was 
no commandery of Knights Templar at Henderson and only three or 



660 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

four Knights, he, nothing daunted, wrote a petition for a dispensation, 
secured the signatures of a sufficient number by borrowing names 
from Owensboro, furnished the means necessary to start a Com- 
mandery, and, in December, 1871, Henderson Commandery, under 
dispensation, now No. 14, was instituted, and he was the first Knight 
dubbed and created therein. He was the first Prelate of this Com- 
mandery, afterward Eminent Commander, and is now the Frelate. 
He has also served Henderson R. A. Chapter, No. 65, as High 
Priest. 

In addition to attaining to all the degrees in York Masonry, Mr. 
Johnson has also attained to all the degrees of the A. and A., Scottish 
Rite, up to and including the thirty-third and last degree, and 
is now Special Deputy Inspector General for the Southern jurisdiction 
of Kentucky. He is also a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of 
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, a social order whose sacred precinct is 
only open to Knights Templar or thirty-second degree members of 
the Scottish Rite. The sum of Past Grand Master Johnson's Masonic 
history is as follows : Past Master, Past High Priest, Past Eminent 
Commander, Past Grand Master and Honorary Inspector General of, 
the Supreme Council, thirty-third degree A. and A., Scottish Rite. 

In his business he is diligent — he eats no idle bread. During his 
administration as Grand Master, a Lodge was established at Pool 
Town, Ky., and bears his name, " Campbell H. Johnson Lodge. No. 
604." 

HENRY E. LEWIS.— A history of Henderson County, Ken- 
tucky, would be incomplete that did not give a sketch of the ten years 
citizenship therein of the late Henry E. Lewis. 

Edward Hutchinson Lewis and Eliza Lewis, his wife, were de- 
cendants of the same family, both natives of Boston. The Lewis fam- 
ily of Boston were an old and honorable line of Massachusetts, in col- 
onial times and days of the American Revolution. Their relations 
number some of the good and worthy names of Boston from those 
early times to the present. Mr. E. H. Lewis came to Kentucky early 
in life — about the year 1812, and settled in Louisville. In the course 
of years, he was married to Miss Lewis, a cousin, and returning, came 
to make their home in the " Falls City " — then the " far West, " and 
border land, too, of the South. The home they made was, first of all, 
pre-eminently a christian one, and there a social centre for many 
genial forces which benefitted the town as well as society, they were 
respected and beloved by all classes, and her social graces, and chari- 
table works satisfied the love her beauty won. On the " eighth of 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. . 661 

January," 1822, to such worthy parents were born a son — the subject 
of this sketch, Henry Edmund Lewis. He was an only child, and grew 
up, good and well trained, arQ.id the happiest circumstances. After 
his education was completed, he early engaged in mercantile pursuits. 
His father was both a wholesale commission merchant and a banker, 
and he took charge of his father's business in New Orleans, where he 
lived between one and two years. Then H. E. Lewis decided to go 
into other business and formed the firm of " Lewis, Bacon & Co.," 
wholesale grocers and commission merchants, of Louisville. When 
quite young, Henry E. Lewis was married to Miss Margaret Eleanor 
Clark, daughter of George Wallingford Clark and his wife Emily J, 
Clark, residents of Louisville, but form.erly from Baltimore. After 
the period of Mr. Lewis' marriage he disolved the firm of "Lewis, Ba- 
con & Co.," and entered into a new business, in which his father 
was always his principal partner. This business was importing and 
wholesaling queensware, china, and glass. For a period of over twenty 
years the firm of H. E. Lewis & Co., Louisville, Kentucky, was one 
of established reputation for honor, and transacted a leading and ac- 
tive business on Main Street, in Louisville. Mr. Lewis's father was a 
banker for many years, engaged long ago in some active manner with 
the " Northern Bank of Kentucky," then President or Cashier of the 
"Franklin Bank of Kentucky," then retiring from the latter, a new 
bank was formed called the " Jefferson's Savings Institute of Louis- 
ville, Kentucky." Edmund H. Lewis was President of this bank for 
many years In 1860 came the war; E. FI. Lewis and H. E. Lewis 
were both Union men, but both were identified with Louisville and 
Kentucky. In politics the father was a Whig in old times; in the 
war a Democrat, if of any political party then. H. E. Lewis was a life- 
long Democrat. Discharging all duties of citizenship faithfully, they 
came through the war Union men on principal, but Southern in tem- 
perament and affection. H. E. Lewis was a prime mover in getting up 
the " First National Bank of Louisville, Ky.," in lieu of the Jefferson's 
Savings Institute. Edmund H. Lewis was made its President. This 
was, perhaps, the first National Bank organized and established in the 
State of Kentucky. H. E. Lewis & Co. sold their importing queens- 
ware business in 1864; some years prior to this time, H. E.Lewis had 
purchased tracts of land in Henderson County, on, and contiguous to 
Green River ; other tracts, inland lying thirteen miles from Hender- 
son, in the oldest settled part of the county. These lands were in the 
unbroken forests, except one hundred and thirty-five acres bought 
afterwards. About 1857 or '58, Henry E. Lewis became a member 



662 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

of the Masonic order ; he was an ardent Mason, and achieved a bril- 
liant reputation in the conferring of those ancient and sublime orders. 
He was Master, High Priest of the Royal Arch Chapter in Louisville, 
and a shining and educated Knights Templar. He filled many offices 
and possessed many titles, " not understanded of the people outside of 
the order." He had taken up to and including the twenty-second de- 
gree in the ancient and accepted Scottish Rite, an order of which 
Albert Pike and General John C. Breckenridge were distinguished 
members. Near the end of the war, the Masonic Savings Bank was 
incorporated in Louisville. In this project, Mr. Lewis was an active 
and influential mover ; previous to this time Mr. Lewis became an in- 
valid, resigned the Presidency of the First National Bank, and remved 
in October, 1865, with his family to his beautiful place in Henderson 
County. He thus gratified a fancy, by beginning with land in the woods, 
upon an estate which he had opened for a farm in 1860, and now con- 
sists of four hundred and eighty acres, lying in one body. These lands 
originally belonged to Mrs. H. E. Lewis' maternal ancestors, the 
Hughes family of Maryland. William Hughes, father of Mrs. Lewis, was 
of the early settlers of Henderson County. This beautiful home, now one 
of the handsomest natural sites in the State, was named by Mr. 
and Mrs. Lewis " Haven-Wood." 

Mr. Lewis had prospecting made for oil lands in different local- 
ities in Kentucky. In the season of 1865 and '^6, in Henderson 
County, there was lubricating oil " struck " by the " Alvasia Oil Com- 
pany" — one of Mr. Lewis' companies, working in Henderson County. 
The name of this company was original with him, given in compli- 
ment of Mr. William L. Alves, the manager of that work, and an asso- 
ciate of Mr. Lewis in leasing oil lands. The " Alvasia " works were 
located on the farm of Mr. Elisha Williams, near his homestead, on 
the Owensboru Road, about ten miles from Henderson. Previously 
Mr. Lewis had gotten several charters from the Legislature of Ken- 
tucky, and controlled two oil companies, of which he was the princi- 
pal incorporator. When the enterprise promised success in Hender- 
son County, stock was in demand; but the petroleum, when found, 
after months of toil and a steady outlay of capital, proved not to have 
been struck in paying quantities. The oil developed proved to be the 
best lubricating petroleum, experts, and influential persons in Pitts- 
burgh, Pa., giving a favorable opinion of the richness and body of the 
crude oil. An unwillingness on the part of the stockholders to go on 
and bore other wells to find a " flowing well," decided Mr. Lewis and 
Mr. Alves to desigt from the work — as theirs had been the largest part, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



663 



and no benefit was reaped by them or the stockholders. But the re 
cord has been made— petroleum has been found in Henderson County. 
By his experience Mr. Lewis was content to hold his oil property, and 
leases in ''statu qmr as they Temain, though '^ oil men" from time 
to time have offered inducements for " prospecting." H. E. Lewis then 
gave his whole attention to his place, having orchards set out contam- 
tng several thousand trees of the choicest varieties of the standard 
fruits of our climate. One experiment, which was only successful for a 
few years, was a vineyard of Catawba grapes, bought from Mr. N. 
Longworth. of Cincinnati, and cultivated by his system ; but that 
method is not suited to this section, the land, climate, nor labor. In 
1869 Mr. Lewis erected a steam grist mill, with capacity for four run 
of burrs, for both wheat and corn, and a good custom was at once es- 
tablished with four counties. At th t time there were but three or four 
mills in Henderson County. A need for a store came about, and one 
with a good stock was established by Mr. Lewis. Mr. WilUam L. Al- 
ves, son-in-law of Mr. Lewis, was associated with him in business. They 
also farmed, and raised and bought live stock and tobacco, and the 
name of Lewis' Mills was given to the business point. The topography 
of the estate could hardly be improved by an accomplished civil en- 
crineer for beauty and convenience '' Lewis' Mills " is in a level val- 
tey, the homestead on a hili near by, with the open farm and wood- 
land surrounding all. A coal mine was opened and worked for more 
than a year in 1870 and '7L The coal was solely mined for fuel for 
the mill. The coal was good bituminous coal. About 1871 H. E. 
Lewis wrote and had printed a " circular," addressed " to manufac- 
turers, corporators and capitalists," which, if there was space, would be 
interesting to quote here-it ante-dated Henderson and Henderson 
County's present spirit of progress, and in a quiet business view ; but 
other business intervened, and his family thought he ought not to en- 
ter into new and added cares, so Mr. Lewis held that matter in obey- 
ance In this retrospect many subjects come to mind of interest, but 
space must be considered. In 1873 or '74 Mr. Lewis stopped his mill, 
and only opened the store occasionally, concluding that such an ac- 
tive business of so manv kinds was really depriving him of the leisure 
he had retired from citv life and come to his new home, " far from the 
maddening crowd," to enjov. He could not review his labors as a citi- 
zen of Henderson County but with satisfaction. He had done much 
more for the public good than make " two blades of grass grow where 
o-rewlDut one ;" he had circulated thousands of dollars of his capital 
here, and had done all in his power to benefit his fellowmen in many 
ways. 



664 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

Looking back, it seems it was a prophetic feeling which made 
him taKe a space of quiet repose and existence simply at home. In 
the spring of 1875 Mr. Lewis was quite sick, but recovered, as was 
supposed — he. had always in his life been perfectly well. But his re- 
covery was not a real one, and he was taken sick in July, and died on 
the eighth of October, 1875. He died a member of Christ, and in the 
communion of the church. 

It is not fitting to say more here, than to mention that two obitu- 
aries of Henry E. Lewis were voluntarily written by friends — one sent 
from Henderson, and published in the "Southern Churchman," and 
one written and published in Louisville. But it must be recorded feel- 
ingly, that his " Companion " Knights Templar of Henderson paid 
Masonic honors at his grave, after the holy services of the church 
were pertormed. It may be permitted a filial hand to trace the fact 
that his faults were few, and the world better for his having lived 
among men. His record shines with the lustre of many virtues. Ac- 
cording to the wishes of Mr. Lewis, his family continued his home 
and plans; and for eight years, all activities here have been kept up 
and revived and enlarged at " Lewis' Mills, Henderson County, Ken- 
tucky, " where William L. Alves farms, handles live stock, and in ad- 
dition to the flouring mill and store, has built up a saw mill and lum- 
ber business, all in active operation at the present time. In the flush 
of the prosperity and progress of Henderson and Henderson County, 
in this year of grace, 1883, it is pleasant for Henry E. Lewis' family 
to remember that he foresaw such an era here, for he was convinced 
that success and wealth would reward the pioneersin the development 
of our city and county ; and this favored section of the " land-of-our- 
love " will prove rich in treasure under the works of man, in mines and 
manufactures, and agriculture and horticulture, as it is blessed with the 
riches of nature in climate, minerals, and soil, by the power of the 
Creator. Since the foregoing was written, Mr. and Mrs. Alves and 
Mrs. Lewis, widow of our subject, have removed from their lovely 
county home to another, just beyond the city limits, on Lower Main 
Street. 

PAUL ALEXANDER BLACKWELL.— The genealogy of the 
gentleman whose name heads this article, and of whose life and kin- 
dred the following is but a brief and imperfect sketch, taken ab iniiio^ 
presents a lineage distinguished for high character, honorable bearing 
and aristocratic surroundings. Our subject's paternal grandfather was 
one of three brothers who sailed from England many years ago for 
America. Arriving iri this country,, they separated, one of them 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 665 

settling on Blackwell's Island, from whom the Island derived its name, 
another settled in North Carolina and became the acknowledged head 
of the world-renowned Durham tobacco manufacturers, the third, Robert 
Blackwell settled in. Virginia. From the latter, the subject of this sketch 
descended. Robert Blackwell, the paternal grandfather, served as a 
Magistrate under King George III, and died in the year 1788. The 
maternal grandfather was James Jeffries, who lived in Virginia and 
departed this life in that State in the year 1831 ; subsequent to the 
Declaration of Independence, he served as a magistrate. The maternal 
grandmother, Nancy Hogan, was born in Virginia and lived there dur- 
ing her natural life. She died during the year 1848 at the good and 
rather remarkable old age of eighty years. 

Chapman Blackwell, the father of our subject, was born in Lunen- 
burg County, Virginia, in the year 1785; he was married to Miss Pru- 
dence Russell Jeffries, who was born in Lunenburg County 
in 1796. Seven children resulted from this union, Mary, James, 
Nancy, Jane, Paul A., Branch and Francis. Chapman Blackwell was 
from boyhood a farmer devotedly attached to that life. Hearing of 
the fertile soils of the far West child of old Virginia, its almost limit- 
less productiveness, he determined to immigrate, and, to effect that pur- 
pose, disposed of such of his property as he deemed best and set out 
with his family, overland for Kentucky, in the year 1832. The com- 
parative wilds of the route to be traveled, the ruggedness of the roads, 
the privations that immigrants fell heir to, were obstacles to be sure ; 
but, with a firm and fixed purpose, a sound and unflinching spirit mov- 
ing him, he plodded along over mountains and through valleys, recog- 
nizing the tediousness of the journey and its lonely surroundings, 
never once hesitating or brooding over a determination to better his 
condition in life. Thus he continued on slowly, but surely, through 
Virginia, then Kentucky, until he reached Henderson County, where 
he settled on a track of land near Zion, 

Here, in the woods, he built him a rude log cabin in which to 
shelter his family, and here he toiled, clearing the forest and tilling 
the soil up to the day of his death, that sad event occurring in the 
year 1851. His devoted wife survived him, and in this there appears 
a coincidence preternatural in its occurrence. In the year 1873, 
twenty-two years afterwards, in the same month and on the same day 
of the month, the good wife and mother followed her husband in death. 

Paul A. Blackwell, the subject of this sketch, was born in Lunen- 
burg County, Virginia, April 22d, 1826, therefore he was only six 
years of age when he accompanied his father from his place of nativ- 



666 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ity over the mountains into Kentucky. Arriving at school age, he 
was sent to the neighboring country school, and it was there that he 
gained his first knowledge of the limitless worth of the alphabet and 
the multiplication table. When he had become more advanced in 
spelling, reading and arithmetic, he was placed under the tutorage of 
Hon. Philip B. Matthews, now of this city, and who at that time was 
regarded not only the most capable, but the most reliable instructor of 
the youth of his neighborhood. 

Mr, Blackwell matriculated at this school in 1841, and his subse- 
quent life furnishes a pleasing testimony of how well he learned and 
how closely he applied himself. This was the last school he ever at- 
tended. At the age of twenty-two years he returned to Virginia and 
while there, on the fourteenth day of June, 1848, in Lunenburg County, 
married Miss Martha S. Crymes^ a native of the same county. He, 
with his wife, returned to Kentucky a short time afterwards, and set- 
tled down to farming in the neighborhood of his father. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. B ackwell have been born six children : William, Mary, 
Emma, Ada, Alva and another that died in infancy. Of this number 
only three are living, William, Emma and Alva. Mr. Blackwell fol- 
lowed farming up to 1855, when he moved into the town and formed 
a co-partnership wiih James E. Ricketts, under the firm name of 
Ricketts & Blackwell, and embarked in the private banking business 
in a small frame building that stood then near where George Lyne & 
Son's drug store now stands. At that time the Farmers' Bank was 
doing business in the building now occupied by the First National, 
and were building for a banking house the house now owned by the 
Presbyterian Church on the corner of Elm and Second Cross streets. 
Upon the completion of this house, the books, furniture and funds of 
the bank were removed to the new building, and Ricketts & Blackwell, 
by purchase of Dr. Owen Glass, became the purchasers of the house 
vacated by the Farmers' Bank. In this house the firm conducted 
a lucrative business up to 186i^, when the subject of this sketch read 
in the war clouds wreck and ruin to all business located on the south 
side of the Ohio, and immediately sold his interest in the bank to 
Ricketts, who continued the business a few years, and died. Mr. Black- 
well then purchased a farm, and operated it for six or seven years, 
though he never surrendered his citizenship in the town. In 1869, 
when his eldest son, William, had arrived at an age to justify him, he 
opened in Henderson a produce house, and was three years engaged in 
this business, and at the end of that time he sold his interest to Thomas 
S. Knight. Since that time he and his son have been largely engaged 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 667 

in the hardware and agricultural business, carrying at all seasons a 
very extensive and varied stock, and enjoying, as they deserve to en- 
joy, a very large and prosperous patronage. Mr. Black well has 
traveled in all of the principal Slates of the Union, not alone for 
pleasure, but with an eye to business, and in this his experience has 
amply rewarded him. In politics, he is a Democrat of the purest ray 
serene — a Jacksonian ; in religious faith, a Christadelphian, or better 
known as a Thomasite. He is perhaps better known as an influential, 
enthusiastic member abroad, than any other one of the county whose 
name appears upon the church roll. Mr. Blackwell was never an office- 
seeker, yet he has been called upon to serve his constituents in more 
official positions than one. He served his district as Magistrate dur- 
ing the year 1860, and his town as Police Judge during the years 1861 
and '62. He has held a commission as Notary Public for a number 
of years, and in every position has given unqualified satisfaction. He 
has often been called upon to take charge of estates and trust funds, 
and wherever he chose to be obliging, he has discharged his duties 
with marked ability— notably the estate of James E. Ricketts, which 
occupied a great range and required executive and business ability of 
undoubted skill. Judge Blackwell has never enjoyed perfect health, 
far from it, his life has been shadowed by a harrassing disease that 
has kept him continuously in remembrance of it. Yet, notwithstand- 
ing this fact, he has applied himself with such intelligence and such 
energy as his diseased frame would admit of, that he has acquired a 
handsome competency, enough to enable him to take front rank 
among the commercial men of his city. He enjoys a handsome, quiet 
home and takes the world as a philosopher should. 

WALTER W. CUMNOCK.— The subject of this sketch is one 
of a larg:e progeny, there having been born unto his parents twelve 
children. Of that number, eleven are living at this time, eight boys 
and three girls. To say that he sprang from a parentage gifted in the 
successful handling of intricate machinery in all of its multiplied work- 
ings and movements, is only to tell that he, too, has inherited, in a 
full measure, of that blessing so liberally showered upon those who 
have gone before him. 

Walter W. Cumnock first saw the dawn of light in Scotland, in 
the year 1846, nd before he Jiad attained to the age of two years, 
was, with a doting father and mother, upon the bosom of the " dark 
blue sea," en route to this free land — America. His father's name was 
Robert L. Cumnock ; his mother's maiden name, Margaret Goodlet, 
both Scotch born. The grandfather, on the paternal side, was an 



668 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ofificer in the British army, as was also a brother of Robert L. Cum- 
nc5ck. The grandfather on the maternal side was a mill mechanic 
and worked in a mill. The grandmother on the maternal side was an 
English woman and died when she was quite young. The parents 
of our subject worked in a mill in Scotland, the father being both a 
mill boss and mule spinner. 

•Upon the arrival of the Cumnock family in this country, they 
located in Lowell, Massachusetts, and engaged in the mill business. 
Walter W. Cumnock was educated in Mason, New Hampshire, and 
Lowell, Massachusetts. His education was not confined to books 
alone, but he was instructed in the art of cotton spinning, and from 
close application and intelligent determination, has risen from an 
apprentice to a master of .mill machinery and cotton spinning. He 
has traveled in this country, Canada, and Europe, and wherever a 
point could be gained, he made it a study, to his advantage, so that to- 
day he is justly ranked among the foremost cotton mill Superintendents 
of America. Our subject is one of a family of experts in the manu- 
facture ot textile fabrics. There are five brothers, all cotton mill 
managers, and hold under charge, nine thousand operators, and 
eleven thousand looms ; more operatives and looms, than are con- 
trolled by any other family of kinsmen in this or perhaps any other 
country. Robert L. Cumnock, Jr., who is a graduate of Middleton 
University, Connecticut, and Professor of Elocution and English 
Literature at Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University, is also a 
brother. During the year 1880, and at the age of thirty-four years, 
Mr. Cumnock was given charge as Superintendent of the Evansville 
Indiana Cotton Mills, and while there, married Miss Lizzie Priest, 
October 26th, 1882. The result of that union has been two children ; 
the eldest, a boy, died at three months of age. Mrs. Cumnock is a 
daughter of Hon. and Mrs. George M. Priest, and granddaughter of 
Rev. and Mrs. Joel Lambert 

Mr. Cumnock was too young — even though he had desired — at 
the outbreak of the late war, to take part as a soldier. He has 
avoided politics, from the fact that he has no liking for that kind of 
excitement ; he was never an office holder, and was never an applicant 
for office. In church faith he is a strict Presbyterian. During the year 
1883 he visited Henderson with a view pi engaging her capatalists in 
a cotton mill enterprise, of which they knew but little, but of which he 
was thoroughly posted in every detail. He secured an audience and 
made known his plans; how well he succeeded, stands to-day a mon- 
ument to his intelligence, his far reaching judgement, and daring 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 669 

spirit. -Cast your eye to the east, and there see that grand three-story 
brick structure, with its accompanying outbuildings, setting on a hill, 
a town of itself. From the ground floor to the roof, this great build- 
ing contains its hundreds of machines, doing their work with more 
precision and niceness than man can do, however so well he be edu- 
cated in the art of working textile fabrics. We refer to the cotton 
mill, built at an outlay of a few thousand dollars less than a half mil- 
lion. Walter W. Cumnock has been the head and front, the wheel 
within a wheel of this great and eminently successful enterprise, and 
to-day, he treads the aisles, and superintends the movements "of one 
of the most magnificent and promising cotton mills to be found on 
the American Continent. 

EZRA CALHOON WARD was born in Hardin Countv, Ken- 
tucky, March 13th, 1854. His father was a Cumberland Presbyterian 
preacher, but resided upon his farm, about eight miles southwest of 
Elizabethtown, and upon this farm the subject of this sketch spent the 
most of his time until 1871. He was left without parents at an un- 
usually tender age, his mother having died October 17th, 1855, and 
his father following July 10th, 1864. He was then left in the custody 
and care of a sister, whose husband was a farmer, and with whom he 
remained until her death, which occurred in September, 1871. Until 
this time our subject's life had been spent in doing the ordinary farm 
work during the farming season, and attending the district schools 
during the winter months. He continued to do farm labor until 
August, 1873, when he came to Henderson, Kentucky, and took up 
his abode with his brother, Thomas E. Ward, an attorney at law, with 
whom he remained for several years. The parents of our subject be- 
ing in but moderate circumstances, and leaving a family of eight chil- 
dren, he of course was dependent upon his own exertions for a liveli- 
hood, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he succeeded in 
maintaining himself in the Henderson Public and High Schools until 
his course was completed, which was done in June, 1875. But, by 
shutting himself up from society, and living economically, and devo- 
ting his vacations and the whole of his leisure time in the employment 
of some one who was able and willing to pay him for his services, he suc- 
ceeded in securing for himself the advantages of a good English edu- 
cation. In September, 1875, he assumed the duties and responsibil- 
ities of a teacher, beginning the practice of this profession in one of 
the district schools of the county, and continuing the same success- 
fully and efficiently until June, 1880. During the time he was teach- 
ing school, he was also engaged in the study of law, and his summer 



670 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

vacation was spent in the law otifice of his brother, under the tutor- 
age of his brother and the Hon. S. B. Vance. I'herefore, in Septem- 
ber, 1879, he was admitted to the bar, as a practicing attorney of this 
Commonweahh. 

In October, 1880, he was selected as commissioner of schools for 
the County of Henderson, and was twice elected to this office, which 
position he filled with credit to himself and profit to the public. On 
the second day of December, 1880, he was married to Miss Florence 
Walker, daughter of Hal. B. Walker, and settled down to the prac- 
tice of law in the City of Henderson, Kentucky; one child, a daugh- 
ter, has been born of this marriage. In August, 1883, he was elected 
to the office of Judge of the Henderson City Court, which position he 
now holds. 

In August, 1884, his father-in-law, Hal. B. Walker, departed this 
life, leaving a large and extensive livery business, of which our sub- 
ject, in partnership with (J. K. Walker, an uncle of his wife, became 
the purchasers. He is yet engaged in the livery business, and is re- 
ceiving a liberal share of patronage. Judge Ward is a simon pure 
Democrat, and has never been defeated for an office for which he was 
an announced candidate. 

NATHANIEL A. KITCHELL, M. D., physician and surgeon, 
was born at Lewisburg, Muhlenburg County, Kentucky, on the twen- 
ty-first day of June, 1835. He was educated in Brown County, 
Illinois, and, when at the age of twenty-two years, returned to Ken- 
tucky and settled at Souih Carrolton, on Green River. He had 
evinced a very decided preference for the profession of medicine, and, 
therefore, soon after arriving at South Carrolton, commenced to study 
under the instruction of Dr. C. C. Forbes, of that place. Soon 
afterwards he attended lectures at St. Louis, Mo. In April, 1860, he 
began the practice of his profession with Dr. Rufus Linthicum, of 
Henderson County, and continued with him to the fall of 1861, when, 
led by all his sympathies to side with the people of the South, he 
entered the Confederate army and went to war. He enlisted with 
Col. Adam Johnson and was with that distinguished commander in 
most of his engagements with the enemy, notably the terrible battle 
near Owensboro. He was with Morgan in his Indiana and Ohio 
raid in the summer of 1863, and was captured in Ohio. After his 
capture, the Doctor was sent a prisoner to Fort Delaware, where he 
was confined until the seventeenth day of the following November, 
when he and other physicians of Morgan's command were sent to 
City Point, on James River, Virginia, and there exchanged for an equal 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 671 

number of Federal surgeons. Upon reaching Richmond, Dr. Kitchell 
was detailed by the Surgeon General to take charge of the Federal 
sick in Hospital No. 21. During the winter he availed himself of the 
opportunity offered, attended the Richmond Medical College, and was 
awarded a Confederate diploma. In March, 1864, he rejoined the 
remnant of his command, but was soon after taken sick, and, in May, 
his health being so much impaired, he returned to Kentucky and again 
commenced the practice of his profession at Robards Station, Hen- 
derson County. During the winter of 1873 and 1874, he attended 
Bellevue College, New York, and in the spring received his second 
diploma. He then returned to Robards Station and continued to 
practice until September, 1878, when, owing to continued ill-health, 
he abandoned the profession altogether. A few years subsequent he 
took up his residence in the city of Henderson, and, in partnership 
with his old and long-time friend, J. D. Robards, engaged in the pur- 
chase of tobacco, and also in the manufacture of plug, twist and 
smoking tobaccos. 

On the nineteenth day of June, 1884, the Doctor married Miss 
Frances Ellen Triplett, of Henderson County, and a son, N. A. 
Kitchell, Jr., born July 18th, 1885, is the issue of this union. The 
happy success and honors Dr. Kitchell has won are due largely to his 
energy and perseverance. With a kind disposition and unswerving 
integrity, he has won the respect and esteem, not only of his com- 
munity, but of the members of his profession generally, to whom his 
name and labors are well known. During this summer, 1887, the 
firm of Robards & Kitchell was dissolved, the doctor retiring. Since 
that time he has purchased the tobacco stemmery of Thomas Evans 
and is now engaged in purchasing in his own right and name. 

CLARENCE CHRISTIAN GIVENS, editor and publisher, 
was born in Providence, Hopkins County, on the ninth day of Novem- 
ber, 1865, and educated in the common schools of his county. He is 
a son of Matthew C. Givens, present Judge of this judicial circuit. 
In his young life he evinced a fondness for newspaper work, and, at 
the age of seventeen vears, commenced the publication of the Sebree 
Sunbea?7i, a three-column folio, at Sebree, Kentucky. He spent one 
year in this enterprise, then sold out and came to Henderson in the 
employ of Thomas L. Cannon, who, at that time, was publishing the 
Sentinel. He remained with the Sentinel but a short time, when he 
removed to Providence and commenced the publication of the Gleaner 
He soon succeeded in building up a large circulation, and, at the end 



672 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

of six months, desiring to go into a larger and more extended field, 
removed to Madisonville and commenced the publication of the 
Hopkins County Gleaner^ seven columns. Here he sought patronage 
in opposition to the Times, an old established paper published by 
Zeno F. Young, one of the most popular and deserving publishers in 
the State. Nothing daunted, young Givens took off his coat, and, by 
working night and day, soon gained a large patronage and drew 
around himself a host of friqnds. His paper was soon after enlarged 
to an eight-column folio^ then to a nine-column with steam power added. 
By determined industry and square dealing, he i:egistered the largest 
number of subscribers ever claimed by any paper in the county. 
Twelve months had scarcely rolled by, when he purchased the Tijties and 
consolidated it with the Gleaner. Not satisfied, but determined to go 
into a yet larger territory of newspaper usefulness, in July, 1885, he 
removed to Henderson and commenced the publication of the Hen- 
derson Gleaner, a nine-column weekly. By dint of personal persever- 
ance and unlimited effort, Mr, Givens has secured a circulation never 
attained by any paper heretofore published in Henderson. He is a 
bundle of nerves and each nerve is the embodiment of energv. Work 
is his motto, and work it is with him from morn 'till night. It is 
creditably asserted that his paper now has a circulation of five thous- 
and. His advertising, as well as job work patronage, is proportionally 
large. 

In the month of August, 1885, Mr. Givens married Miss Emma 
M. Sloan, of Madisonville, and unto them on the twenty-fifth day of 
August, 1886, was born a daughter — Lizzie May. In politics he is a 
Democrat, in religion a Baptist. This young editor and publisher is 
a living example of what can be accompUshed by intelligence and 
systematized hard work. Recently a one-third interest in the Gleaner 
has been sold to Professor Haag, of South Carrolton, Kentucky, for 
two thousand dollars. The firm is now Givens & Haag. 

COLONEL ROBERT SMITH was born m Westmoreland 
County, Pennsylvania, on the nineteenth day of August, 1784, from 
which place his father moved to Monongahela County, Virginia, 
where the family lived until the year 1796. During this year, Mr. 
Smith, unmindful of the great difficulties attending a journey to the 
far West, removed with his family, to Henderson County, and settled al- 
most directly opposite Evansville, Indiana. After remaining here but a 
short time, he found to his great discomfiture, that the river bottoms were 
extremely unhealthy, and thereupon determined to remove in search 
of a healthier location. He again broke up home and settled near what 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 673 

is now known as Smith's Mills, on the farm at present owned by B. 
F. Martin, where he continued to live up to the time of his death. 
When Colonel Smith, then a lad of fourteen years of ag^, and his 
father passed through Henderson, there were but three or four log 
cabins to be seen, and the county nothing more than a vast wilderness. 
He was strong, healthy and full of natural fire and energy, and in this 
wild country he had realized his fondest backwoods dreams, for the 
forests were filled with game of all kinds known to the western wilds, 
including buffalo, bear, deer, and thousands of turkeys, squirrel and 
small game. The only drawback to a youth of his temperament was 
the lack of educational facilities; there were no schools, and, although 
deprived of even what is termed an ordinary common school educa- 
tion, he yet so managed with such books ss he could lay his hands 
upon, to gather for himself a fair understanding of the most important 
English branches. At the age of nineteen, in the year 1803, Colonel 
Smith intermarried with Miss Seltsey Rollesson, a lady of strong mind 
and in every way fitted to make home cheerful and happy. No two 
ever lived more happily together. When the memorable campaign of 
Harrison against the Indians was agitating the country. Colonel Smith, 
being a man of ardent patriotic temperament and ready to resent a 
wrong done his country at any time, volunteered as a private and went 
under General Samuel Hopkins into the then Indian territory, beyond 
Terre Haute, Indiana, but was too late for the battle of Tippecanoe. 
When the Kentucky troops were disbanded, he returned to his home 
and assumed once more the arduous duties of making a livelihood in 
the yet wilds of Kentucky. Later, when the British were threatening 
New Orleans, his noble spirit rallied to the call of his country, and at 
the head of a company organized in this and adjoining counties, em- 
barked on a flatboat or barge for New Orleans, to join General Jack- 
son's army. He arrived with his company on the evening of the fourth 
of January, 1815, and only received his arms and amunition the night 
before the great battle. On this memorable eighth day of January, 
Colonel Smith and his men distinguished themselves for gallantry, 
daring, indomitable courage, and will-power. They were during the 
whole engagement in the thickest of the fight, in the centre and im- 
mediately opposite the spot where the renowned General Packenhara 
was killed. In May, he, with his company, returned home, and ever 
after that time it was his custom to celebrate the 8th day of January. 
After this war Colonel Smith settled down upon his farm, and 
yet, while devotedly attached to his life's profession, he was neverthe- 
less an active participant in all matters of interest to his adopted 

43 



674 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

county. He served as magistrate during the years 1816, '17, '18, '19 
'20, '21, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26, '29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34 '35, '36, '37,' 
'38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, and as sheriff of the county two terms, 
1827 and '28 and 1845 and '46. In the year 1816 his wife died, and 
this to him was by far the hardest blow of his life ;by this wife he had 
fi\e children, Hosea, Eliza, Cynthia, Sarah and Matilda, two of whom 
are yet living, Hosea and Eliza. Hosea Smith is now in his seventy- 
ninth year, and lives where he was born and raised near Smith's 
Mills ; Eliza married Littleberry Weaver, and is still living with her 
son, Albert B. Weaver, near the City of Henderson. In the year 

1817, Colonel Smith married his second wife, Elizabeth Carrington 
. . . c) , 

with whom he lived in conjugal happiness to March the 5th, 1858, 

when he died upon the same place he had settled sixty four years be- 
fore. By his last marriage there were seven children, Elizabeth, 
Francis, Thomas S., Robert, George W., Mary Ann, and Margaret, 
only three of whom are now living ; George W., Mary Ann, and Mar- 
garet. On the ninth day of February, 1862, George W, married Miss 
Adelia Cotton, unto whom there were born four children, Minnie, Ella, 
Maud and George. Mrs. Smith died several* years ago, and on the 
ninth day of February, 1887, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Martha L. But- 
ler. It will be observed that he was partial to the ninth day of Feb- 
ruary, as both marriages were solmenized on that day. Margaret 
Smith, on the twenty-third day of December, 1857, married B. F. 
Martin, by whom she has had two children, Sallie B., who married Dr. 
Lev. Royster, and Fannie. Mary A.Smith, on the twenty sixth day 
of November, 1857, married Samuel L. Cooper, by whom she has had 
four daughters, namely, Maggie, Lizzie, Katie and George. 

December 18th, 1821, by an act of the General Assembly of 
Kentucky, Colonel Smith was appointed in behalf of Henderson 
County, together with Reuben Berry, of Union County, and Daniel 
Talbott, Surveyor of Henderson, to run and establish the boundary 
line between Henderson and Union Counties. Smith's Mill's Post 
Office, one of the first established in Henderson County, and the 
pretty little village called by the same name, derived their appellation 
from an old horse mill, erected by Colonel Smith near the spot where 
the residence of B. F. Martin now stands. No man took a more ac- 
tive interest in the development of Henderson County, than did Col- 
onel Smith. From 1803 to within a few vears of his death, his name 
was intimately associated with every public enterprise. He was in- 
strumental in building more than one house of religious worship, and 
was never known to fail with his means when called upon for any like 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 675 

purpose. He was a Whig in politics, and a recognized leader of his 
party. Since the foregoing was written Rosea Smith and Mrs. Eliza 
Weaver have both died. 

WILLIAM HENRY WEBSTER, farmer and magistrate, was 
born in Fleming County, Kentucky, on the seventeenth day of Sep- 
tember, 1822. His father, Henry F. Webster, was born in Virginia 
on the twenty-fourth day of March, 1785. His mother, Sarah M. 
Howard, was born in Maryland June 4th, 1787. They were married 
in Virginia December 31st, 1811. Mr. and Mrs. Webster came to 
Kentucky in the year 1816, and settled in Fleming County where both 
of them died, the father on May 22d, 1860, the mother on May 20th, 
1856. The subject of this sketch was educated in the common 
schools of his county, and, arriving at the age of twenty-four years, he 
married Miss Margaret H. Manzey, of Fleming County, on the twen- 
ty-sixth day of February, 1846. She died, without issue, May 28th, 
1853. On the fifth day of March, 1854, he married Mrs. Catharine 
Triplett Boise, of the same county. She died without issue November 
27th, 1854. August 5th, 1856, he married Miss Susan M. Triplett, 
of the same county, and she died February 21st, 1868, leaving four 
children, namely, Mary E, Webster, born September 12th, 1857 ; 
Annie E. Webster, born March 22d, 1862 ; Sarah E. Webster, born 
September 1st, 1865, and Susan B., born February 13th, 1868. Mr. 
Webster served his native county as Magistrate for sixteen years, and 
on the first day of April, 1868, removed to Henderson County. On 
the sixth day of January, 1869, he married Miss Annie M. Samuel, 
of Hopkins County. She is yet living, and is the mother of six 
children, four sons and two daughters : Robert J., born October 2d, 
1869 ; Wm. H., born October 19th, 1871 ; Emma F., born Septem- 
ber 25th, 1873; John Edward, born February 17th, 1876: Acsah 
Bell, born April 7th, 1878, and Radford Dunn, born January 29th, 
188L Since Mr. Webster's coming to this county, he has served as 
Magistrate thirteen years, and was recently elected to serve four more 
years, beginning January 1st, 1887. He is a member of Holloway 
Lodge, A. Y. M., No. 153 ; was initiated in 1855, in Fleming County. 
He is also a Chapter Mason, having been exalted to the Royal Arch. 
Mr. Webster, in addition to his magisterial duties, is engaged in farm- 
ing near Niagara. 

MARION DUNCAN.— The subject of this sketch was born in 
the Southern portion of Henderson County, near the Union County 
line, on the sixth day of December, 1838. He was next youngest of 
a family of six children, of whom there were four girls and two boys. 



676 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

His father was Nathan Benjamin Duncan, of Virginia ; his mother, 
Martha Tyree, of Caswell County, North Carolina. They were mar- 
ried in North Carolina and came to Kentucky at an early day. Mrs. 
Duncan died in 1879, aged seventy years. Mr. Duncan's grandfather, 
Nathan Duncan, of Virginia, immigrated to Henderson County, and 
died near Corydon. When our subject was less than two years of age, 
his father died, leaving a widow and children in a badly embarassed 
financial condition. She had no means to educate her children, and 
there were no public schools at that time. Young Marion was hired 
at hard labor before he was large enough to hold a plow handle, and 
this life was continued until he arrived at the age of twenty. His 
wages, amounting from two to thirteen dollars per month, were paid to 
his mother for her and his sisters' support. At the age of twenty, his 
sisters having all married and his mother giving up house-keeping, 
young Duncan started out into the world to seek his own fortune. 
How well he has performed that duty we shall see before this brief 
sketch closes. Yes, he started out into this merciless world, without a 
dollar, influence or education. Health, energy and a determined will 
was his entire stock in trade. Having grown up as a farmer, and 
having gained a reputation for industry, integrity and great capacity 
for directing and controlling labor, he was sought for by men of means 
to take charge of large plantations. The first two or three years he 
exercised the most rigid economy, saving every dollar he was not 
necessarily compelled to part with. This he did for a wise purpose; 
he had now found out the value of an education, and though twenty- 
three years of age, determined at all hazards to educate himself. To 
this end, therefore, he entered school at Corydon, and studied through- 
out two ten months' sessions. During this time he spent no idle time, 
but applied himself with an assiduity of purpose that brought to him a 
good common school English education ; nor was this all, during va- 
cation he studied at night and worked during the day, in order to earn 
something to assist in paying his board and tuition His money fast 
evaporating in necessary expenses, and not having the means to take a 
collegiate course, in order to fit him for professional life, he determined 
to return to that occupation his early condition in life had forced upon 
him. In January, 1863, he was employed to take charge of the farm 
and laborers of John W. Alves. He remained two years with Mr. Al 
ves at a good salary. During the years 1866, '67 and '68 he was in 
charge of William McClain's lands and business in the Horse-shoe 
Bend, at a salary of $600, $700 and $800 per year. In 1869 he was 
employed by Mr. George Atkinson, in charge of his Union County 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 677 

farm, opposite Shawneetown, Illinois, at a salary of 51>^00. At the 
beginning of 1870 he was employed by Mr. Joseph Adams, to take 
charge of Diamond Island, which he did. He remained in the employ 
of Mr. Adams for eight years at annual salaries ranging from $1,600 
to $1,800. The highest price ever paid a manager was paid the sub- 
ject of this sketch. Mr. Duncan then determined to work no longer 
for others, but to launch out on his own hook. During the entire four- 
teen years he managed for others, h • had never an unpleasant word 
with any of the gentlemen for whom he did business, and so success- 
ful was he, it was only a question of salary who would or could secure 
his services. Furthermore, during the fourteen years, he never de- 
manded a price for his services that was not paid him willingly. At 
the close of 1877 Mr. Duncan formed a co-partnership with A. S. 
Nunn, of Henderson, and purchased Slim Island, lying in the Ohio 
River, in the upper or northwest corner of Union County, and con- 
taining four hundred and seventy-five acres of very fine land. For 
this Island they paid the sum of $14,000 cash. Since that time they 
have purchased about eleven hundred acres of land near Henderson, 
and are working from fortv to sixtv-five laborers. 

On the nineteenth day of April, 1871, Mr. Duncan was married 
to Miss Julia Elizabeth Mullen, in Henderson, Rev. Dr. Talbiid of 
the Baptist Church officiating. Mrs Duncan was born on the twelfth 
day of December, 1846, and is a woman of many most excellent traits. 
Mr. Duncan and his wife are both members of the Episcopal Church. 
He is a s':eadfast Mason, and one of great influence. He lias filled 
nearly every chair in the three lodges. He was twice elected Wor- 
shipful Master of the Blue Lodge, and declined. He has served as 
High Priest of his Chapter, and twice Eminent Commander of his 
Commandery, Knights Te;nplar. He is also a Knight of Pythias. 
Mr. Duncan is a large grower of tobacco, corn and wheat, and a large 
buyer and raiser of cattle. His life, though a hard one, has been 
crowned by a success few men under similar circumstances have ever 
attained. 

WYATT H. INGRAM.— The subject of this sketch was born 
in Orange County, Virginia, in 1783. His father, William Ingram> 
immigrated to Fayette County, Kentucky, and from thence to Hender- 
son County in 1803. Dying in the spring of 1806, with his property 
encumbered by debt, the burden of rearing and supporting the family 
of six children fell on young Wyatt, who, by unflagging industry, soon 
paid his father's debts and divided the property equally between the 
children, his brothers and sisters. The expenses of their education 
be bore himself, thus proving both brother and father. 



678 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY KY. 

On the eighth day of December, 1813, Mr. Ingram married Miss 
Jane McGready, daughter of Rev, Jas. McGready, the great Presby- 
terian revivalist of 1800. Soon after his marriage he became exten- 
sively engaged in boating produce to New Orleans. Boat building in 
those days was attended with many difficulties. Mr. Ingram would go 
up Green River with a sufficient number of men, and, with the old 
fashioned whip-saw, get out the necessary lumber for building his 
boats, put it together, and then float down to Henderson, where he 
would load with produce of all kinds for the Southern markets. He 
would then float down to New Orleans and there sell his entire stock, 
including the boat or boats. With the proceeds securely belted about 
him, he would commence his journey homeward on foot. In the 
course of his life, he walked from New Orleans to Henderson 
thirteen times. To-day such an undertaking would deter most men, 
but, with the dangers attending such a trip at that early day, it must 
have taken courage and resolution -of high order. During his mer- 
cantile life, Mr. Ingram purchased goods from Philadelphia mer- 
chants. These were carried in wagons to Pittsburgh and from thence 
down the river to Henderson. Several times, in returning from New 
Orleans, he made the trip to Philadelphia by water. On one occasion 
he sold his produce for S))anish doubloons, and, having no better 
place to put them, packed them securely in his trunk. On arriv- 
ing at Philadelphia, he was astonished, on opening the trunk, to find 
that the gold had played havoc with his clothing, especially some 
extra fine rufiled shirts then in his trunk. Mr. Ingram's high char- 
acter for integrity is well known by the older people now living. The 
good he did was of the practical sort. Several of Henderson's once 
prominent citizens owe, in a large measure, their start in life to him. 
When Jean Spidel, with his family, arrived in New York from the old 
country, he hadn't the means to pay the full amount of passage 
money. Under the custom at that time, he sold his son John to the 
Captain of the vessel until he could be redeemed. It so happened 
that Mr. Ingram was in New York at the time, and, by some means, 
Spidel found it out and sought an interview with him. He asked 
help in so far as to release his son from bondage. Without hesitation 
Mr. Ingram paid the amount due and then brought with him the 
entire family to Henderson. A short time afterwards he established 
Spidel in the butcher business, and, in less time than eighteen months 
Mr. Ingram was repaid in full with interest. Our subject was ever 
ready to lend a helping hand to the deserving, and to assist those who 
were anxious to assist themselves. Thus his charity was of the nobles 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



679 



kind. He died December IStli, 1850, calmly and peacefully, and a 
plain, marble slab marks his resting place in Fernwood Cemetery. 
"If I have done good," said he, "it will be found out; no need to 
emblazon it at my grave." 

Mr. Ingram was one of the most influential men of his day — he 
was a leader in all public enterprises and gave liberally of his means. 
He was for years one of the trustees of the town and was one of the 
original trustees of the old Henderson Seminary. He left a large 
and valuable estate, consisting of lands and town lots mostly. Seven 
children were born unto him, Frank, Emily, Louisa, William, Wyatt, 
James and Jane. Frank died when young; Emily married Dr. Robt. 
Letcher and died several years sfter; Louisa married Hon. John W. 
Crockett and died twelve or fifteen years since, leaving one son, 
Wyatt Ingram, now grown and married; William, now City Clerk of 
Louisville and very highly esteemed ; Wyatt, farming in this county ; 
James, who organized a company, and, in command, fought in the 
Confederate war, since died, and Jane, wife of Dr. Ben Letcher. 

ROBERT DIXON, son of Robert Dixon and Mary Ann Clay, 
was born in Henderson County on the thirteenth day of October, 
1843. His father was a successful farmer until a few years prior to 
his death, he removed into the city and embarked in the tobacco 
business on Lower Main Street. Subsequent to this, a few years, the 
father purchased the lot, corner of First and Kim Streets, and built 
the large three-story brick livery stable with two stores attached, and 
commenced the livery business on a large scale. He caused the third 
story of this immense building to be elegantly floored, and opened 
therein the f^rst roller skating rink in Henderson. Mr. Dixon soon 
after died and the subject of this sketch succeeded to his business. 
Mr. Dixon was a man of great influence, fine intelligence and wonder- 
ful firmness of character. The maternal ancestors of our subject were 
William Clay and Amelia Townes. His paternal ancestors were 
Captain Hal Dixon and Mary Johnston. They were pioneers to this 
part of Kentucky and reared large families of children. Our subject 
was educated at the Sayer Institute at Frankfort, Ky., and at the 
University of Toronto, Canada. On the first day of December, 1864, 
Mr. Dixon married Miss Alice Young, daughter of Judge Milton 
Young, a strong-minded, noble woman. Unto them six children have 
been born, Nannie, Maria, Alice, Mary, Emma and Robert. Nannie 
married Hon. John L. Dorsey. 

Mr. Dixon has served, and is now serving, as a member of the 
Board of Trustees of the Public and High School Boards of the city. 



680 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

For a number of years he has been annually elected a member of the 
Board of Directors of the Henderson Fair Company and has done 
more, perhaps, than anyone else to build up that institution Cer- 
tainly he has contributed more to the raising of fine stock in the 
county than any one citizen of it. He has expended a large amount 
of his means in this direction, and' is to-day the owner of some of the 
finest blooded horseflesh in the entire State. He is the owner of the 
largest livery and sales stable in the citv and gives his whole time and 
attention to that particular business. He is of that class who attends 
strictly to his own business and none other ; is a hard worker and 
enjoys a liberal patronage. He is a Democrat, and, when the spirit 
moves him, is a to-be-feared factor in politics. He was raised a 
Presbyterian but was never much of a churchman. He was never 
much of an admirer of secret societies, consequently has never joined 
anv Lodsre. 

THE EAKINS FAMH.Y.— The paternal head of the Eakins 
family, as regards Henderson County, was a man of thrift, energy and 
great agricultural enterprise. He was a most successful farmer, long 
headed, far seeing and a hard worker. 

John Eakin?, of whom we speak, was born in Rutherford (bounty, 
North Carolina, on the seventeenth day of November, 1789. At the 
age of eighteen years he emigrated to the wilds of Kentucky, and set- 
tled in Henderson County, upon a piece of land purchased by him in 
what is, or was known as the Horse Shoe Bend, above and opposite 
the City of Evansville, Indiana. At that time that territory was a 
dense cane-brake, inhabited by wild animals, including the bear. He 
had not been here long before he became enamored of Miss Sally 
King, a resident of the same territory, whom he married. Miss King 
was a daughter of Esq. Elijah King, a leading pioneer, a highly 
respected and deserving citizen of the new country, and one whose 
advice was most frequently sought and most willingly given. The 
daughter was born in Washington County, Kentucky, on the second 
day of August, 1795, and with her parents came to this, county. Mr. 
Eakins was a farmer all of his life, and as before said, a very success. 
ful one. He never held an office, from the fact he was never an 
applicant for one. He was always in political faith a Democrat, firm 
and unflinching, and never throughout his life voted contrary to his 
faith. By the marriage of Mr, Eakins and Miss King, there were 
twelve children born, five of whom are living at this time. Mr. Ea- 
kins' ancestors were born in Ireland, and were buried on Morris 
Island in front of Charlestown, South Carolina. John Eakins died 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 681 

March 26th, 1868. Mrs. Eakins' parents were English people. She 
died July 13th, 1880. 

Felix G. Eakins, son of ^ohn and Sallie (King) Eakins, was born 
in Henderson County on the tenth day of April, 1829. He was 
raised on a farm, and for twenty years worked with unflinching 
zeal for the parental head. At the end of that time, the young man, 
embued with a noble ambition, backed by a solid education, deter- 
mined to stare the world in the face and fight life's battles "on his 
own hook." To this end, therefore, he emigrated to the Lone Star 
State, and there engaged in surveying, having secured a deputyship in 
Robertson Land District, whic'n embraced at that time all of the 
State of Texas lying west of the Trinity River. He remained there 
until the year 1851, when he returned to his home and was married 
to Miss Matilda D. Weaver, daughter of Littleberry and Eliza 
Weaver, then living in the Town of Henderson. He returned the 
same year to Texas, and followed his chosen profession, surveying, 
until 1853, when he again returned to Kentucky. He began farming, 
coupling with it surveying, serving as deputy to D. N. Walden and 
Robert S. Eastin, both of whom during his deputyship were County 
Surveyors, elected and qualified. This he continued up to and in- 
cluding a part of the year 1862. The hounds of war had been turned 
loose, the tocsin had sounded its solemn to-arms, and, being a south- 
erner to the manor born, he felt it his duty to go. So in the month of 
August of that vear Mr. Eakins was sworn in a Confederate soldier, 
and was elected First Lieutenant of Company G., Tenth Regiment, 
Kentucky Cavalry. He soon, thereafter, participated gallantly in 
engagements had at Madisonville, Owensboro and Uniontown. 

In October, 1862, he was wounded in a skirmish at West 
Franklin, Indiana; was captured, and confined in a hospital 
at Henderson until April, 1863. He was then sent to Johnson's 
Island, Lake Erie, where he was detained only a few weeks and was 
sent on exchange. He was exchanged at City Point, Virginia, and 
from there went by the way of Richmond and Lynchburg, on to Chat- 
tanooga, Tennessee, from thence via Tullahoma and McMinnville to 
Salt Lick Bend, on the Cumberland River, where he rejoined his regi- 
ment. His regiment was a part of the Second Brigade, attached to 
Morgan's forces, and was commanded by Colonel Adam R, Johnson. 
There was no " rest for the weary," for no sooner had he rejoined his 
regiment than the bugle called each man to his saddle. Kentucky 
was invaded, via Glasgow and Columbia, and at the latter place a 
considerabje skirmish was had with the old veteran, Colonel Frank 



682 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Woolford, in which Woolford was worsted. Morgan pushed ahead in 
the direction of Green River, to a point known as Green River bridge, 
and arrived there on the fourth day of July, 1863. This place was 
guarded by one thousand veteran Union soldiers, a strong stockade 
and two line of breastworks, under command of Colonel Moore ; a flag 
of truce from Morgan was sent to Moore demanding a surrender, but 
this Moore declined, giving ^is his reason, that it was a day too dear 
to the hearts of his countrymen— it was the anniversary of the Decla- 
ration of Independence — and to entertain such a demand at that time, 
would be to turn his back completely upon his country. "Call some 
other day, gentlemen, and I will be pleased to talk with you," was his 
reply. This, then, was the signal for a bloody assault, and a bloody 
one it was too. The Second Brigade of which our subject was a sol- 
dier, was ordered to charge; the charge was made, and the Unionist 
were driven from their line of intrenchments back into the stockade. 
Here they made a determined stand, and owing to the rough and rug- 
ged surroundings, obstacles and all else operating against the attack- 
.ing party, there was a quick slaughter of not less than seventy-five men. 
The Confederates then withdrew, and crossed Green Riuer about one 
and a half miles below the bridge. The command then passed on to 
Lebanon, where it encountered General Manson and about three 
hundred Federals, who gave battle from sunrise in the morning until 
three o'clock in the afternoon, fighting from houses and whatever else 
could be found in the way of protection, but finally Manson surrendered. 
From Lebanon Morgan passed through the State, striking the Ohio 
River at Brandenburg, Mead County. Here two steamers were cap- 
tured and the troops transported across the Ohio River onto Indiana 
soil. This crossing was effected July, 8th, 1863, Company G. being 
the last company put over, and this after midnight. This was Morgan's 
celebrated raid through Indiana and Ohio. After crossing the Ohio 
and all things in readiness, the line of march was taken up at daylight, 
the Second or Johnson's Brigade bringing up the rear of the command, 
and Company G. bringing up the rear of the brigade. Between three 
and four o'clock that afternoon the command came in sight of Corydon 
Indiana, a small place defended by some four thousand militia and 
soldiers, protected by rifle pits, and hurriedly made breast works. 
Company G. of the Tenth Kentucky, Lieutenant Eakins, was ordered 
from the rear to make the attack, which they did in fine style, beating 
the enemy in about fifteen minutes. From there Morgan passed un- 
molested through the State and entered the State of Ohio at a point 
called Harrison. Cincinnati was given the go by, only a short distance 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 683 

to the right. That night the command rode one hundred miles on to 
Vernon, where there was had a skirmish with General Manson. Mor- 
gan drew off, and proceeded^on until the evening of July 26th, until 
the Ohio River was reached at Cheshire, where he hoped to cross into 
Virginia. Here an attack was made by General Shackelford, in com- 
mand of a large force of Federals, whom the Confederates fought un- 
til about dark. Being entirely out of ammunition, and not hearing from 
the Commanding General, who had left some time before on ar-other 
expedition, the little band to which Lieutenant Eakins was then at- 
tached, sent in a flag of truce, proposing to surrender. Seven hundred 
and twenty men surrendered, and were taken by boat to Cincinnati, 
where they were kept in prison for three or four days. One hundred 
and eighteen officers, including Lieutenant Eakins, were then for- 
warded to Johnson's Island, a place familiar to the Lieutenant, 
who had been there before. Lieutenant Eakins remained upon the 
Island until August, when he was sent with others to the Western 
Penitentiary, Alleghany City, Pa., where he remained until March 
1864, when he with others was sent to Point Lookout Maryland, 
where he remained until July, when he was sent to Fort Delaware, an 
Island in Delaware River, between the States of Delaware and New 
Jersey. August 1st, 1864, Lieutenant Eakins with six hundred others 
was taken from Fort Delaware and sent to Morris Island, in front of 
Charleston, South Carolina, and placed in a stockade, between Fort 
Waggoner and Battery Gregg, under the cover of the Federal guns. 
The stockade in which he was confined contained just one acre 
of ground. He and his co-prisoners remained there under the fire of 
the Confederate guns for forty days ; fortunately none of the shells 
struck inside of the inclosure. While none of the prisoners were 
wounded by friendly guns, some of them were struck from the guns of 
the guard, which was composed of a Massachusetts Negro regiment. 
Lieutenant Eakins and his friends were given a dainty diet ; for in- 
stance, one " hardtack — a cracker about two inches square, half inch 
thick, one ounce of meat, not of the best, and a half pint of bean soup 
twice a day. He remained at this place forty days and was then sent 
down to Fort Pulaski, on one of the Tyber Islands, in the Savanah 
River, with no change of rations until January 1st, 1865, at which 
time he was given ten ounces of unsifted meal once a day. On that 
he lived from the first of January to February 1st, at which time there 
came an order for his immediate exchange with others, and for them 
to be put on full army rations. On the fifth of March, he was taken 
on board of a vessel and sent to Norfolk, Virginia. From that place, 



684 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and for some unaccountable reason, he was sent again to Fort Dela- 
ware. Lieutenant Eakins and his comrades were nothing more than 
skeletons, and as sad a story as it may seem, fully three hundred died 
of starvation during their incarceration in Federal prisons, although 
the story goes, that Uncle Sam fed well his enemies as he did his 
friends. Lieutenant Eakins was at Fort Delaware at the time of the 
surrender and was held a prisoner until June, 1865, when he andfour 
hundred and twenty-five others were released after having taken an 
iron-clad oath. He arrived home on the se^enteenth day of June, 
1865, since which time he has rested in the bosom of a happy family, 
following farming and surveying for a livelihood. 

Joseph William Eakins, son of John and Sally King Eakins, 
was born in the year 1840, in the County of Henderson, and was edu- 
cated in the schools of Henderson and at Franklin College, near Nash, 
ville, Tennessee. His life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits, 
and to-day he is the possessor of one of the best regulated farms in 
the county, lying a mile or more below Geneva, on the Smith's Mills 
Road. He grows tobacco, corn, wheat and grass, and deals largely 
in stock. He is strictly a business man, bringing to bear at all times 
a well defined and well matured system of thought and action, that 
enable him not only to meet the demands made upon him, but to lay 
bv a handsome interest for the so-called rainv dav. He is a reader, 
fond of books, and as a writer, is well known by local writers as one 
well up in all he undertakes. On the twenty-fifth day of June, 1867, 
Mr. Eakins married Miss Sallie Powell, of this county, a most estima- 
ble and loving wife, who gave to him as the fruits of that union six 
chilflren, Willie King, Sallie, Bettie, Joe Barnett, and Mary, daugh- 
ters, and Robert Donald, a son. Mary, the youngest daughter, died 
when she was only four months old. His is a happy household, a 
bright blooming family of children, shedding a halo of sunshine around 
the parental head. Mr. Eakins joined the Confederate army when 
quite young at Camp Coleman, Uniontown. He was captured at 
Morganfield, Union County,' October 21s|:, 1862, brought a prisoner 
to Henderson, and there released. He is a man of positive character, 
but liberal in his views, and humane in disposition. His attachments 
are strong, yet, he is firm in the right as he holds it, and nothing can 
swerve him. He is personally popular in his neighborhood, so much 
so that he has been called upon oftentimes to serve his precinct in 
the capacity of magistrate. This he has done simply as a duty he felt 
he owed as a citizen, and not as an office seeker. As an official he 
has always been looked upon and regarded as one of the safest and 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 685 

most painstaking. His term of service dates from 1879, and continues 
to this day. He was never a member of the church, yet he holds to 
the faith handed down bv the Saints. He is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of- Odd Fellows, and also of the Knights of Pythias. 

JOHN FRANCIS LOCKETT. — The young gentleman and 
official, whose name heads this article, was born in Henderson County 
on the fifth day of December, 1856. He is the eldest son of Rev. P. 
H. Lockett, who was born in this county June 21st, 1832. His mother 
is Ella Eakins, daughter of John Eakins, an early comer to Henderson 
County. She was born May 5th, 1834. 

The father of our subject studied law when quite young, and, 
upon bemg licensed to practice, was regarded by those who knew him 
best among the most brilliant young attorneys of his day. He was a 
Whig in politics and followed the changes of that great old party up 
to the war, when he cast anchor with the Democratic party and has 
remained faithful ever since. In the exciting political days, a few 
years prior to the war, he took an active interest, and, upon more 
than one occasion, met, upon the rostrum, the great speakers of the 
opposing party. Met them, yea, more, successfully, and to the great 
delight of his hundreds of friends who flocked around him to give him 
cheer. In the year 1866 he was elected Judge of his county, and this 
office he held for three successive terms, up to and including a part 
of the year 1882. During the latter years of official life, he devoted 
a great part of his leisure time to the study of theology and frequently 
preached. He was always a pleasing speaker, an intelligent thinker 
and reasoner, and, in all, a most lovable man. Upon his defeat for 
a re-election in 1882, he went to the pulpit, and it was not long before 
he was called to the pastorate of the Baptist Church at Trenton, Ky., 
where he yet resides with a loving family and is beloved by all Chris- 
tian people, 

The paternal grandfather of our subject was Captain Francis 
Lockett, one of the noted men of this part of Kentucky Captain 
Lockett was a native of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, and, at one 
time, wrote a popular treatise on the Culture of Tobacco. He immi- 
grated to Henderson County when this was scarcely more than a 
howling wilderness. Once here, he soon became a leader of men, 
and his counsel and good advice most frequently sought by his neigh- 
bors and those who knew him only by reputation. He was a Captain 
of militia in Virginia ; a Captain of men in social and business 
life in Kentucky. He represented, during the years 1815, T6 and 
'17, the Counties of Henderson, Hopkins and McLean, in the Lower 



686 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

House of the Legislature. He was then. elected State Senator and 
served till 1819, and was succeeded by the late Go\ernor Archibald 
Dixon. The maternal grandfather was John Eakins, whose biography 
will be found elsewhere in this history. 

John Francis Lockett, the subject of this sketch, was a pupil of 
the Henderson Public and High Schools during the superintendency 
of that finished teacher and disciplinarian, Prof. Maurice Kirby. To 
know that the young man was a persevering student, guided by a 
master mind, is to know that he gained an education worthy of himself. 
This is all true ; few young men have started upon life's journey 
better equipped fundamentally At an early age he determined to 
make law a study and then to make his living practicing it. To this 
end, therefore, he assiduously applied himself, and, in the due course 
of time, was licensed to practice. Like his father, he proved a 
graceful, pleasing speaker. He, too, has fought and won political 
battles on and off of the rostrum. His \oice has been often heard 
not alone in the prosecution of or the defense of his client's rights^ 
but oftentimes in behalf of the Chiistian religion and its blessed ally, 
temperance. In every field he has proven his metal, tempered with 
that of his opponent. For three years up to and including August, 
1886, he served his city as Prosecuting Attorney. In August, he was 
elected County Judge and has entered upon the discharge of his 
official duties. That he will prove himself a most excellent official 
the writer has no doubt. 

On the fourteenth day of April, 1881, in the City of Henderson, 
Judge Lockett married Miss Minnie Jones, a highly accomplished 
lady, one, in every way, deserving her husband's love. Three chil- 
dren have resulted from this union — John, Alvin and Hickman. The 
eldest, John, a bright, promising child, was stricken with diptheria 
and died at the age of three years. The maternal great-grandfather 
of Mrs. Lockett was Augustine Eastin, a Baptist preacher, who came 
from Virginia to Kentucky at the time Boonesborough and Bryant's 
Station were established by the very early pioneers At one time he 
was arrested and confined in the Richmond, Virginia, Jail for preaching 
to the British Soldiers, and, for persisting in speaking the word of 
God to those men, was threatened to be shot. Her maternal grand- 
father was General Zachariah Eastin, who was born in Virginia 
January 11th, 1777.' General Eastin enlisted as a Colonel in the War 
of 1812, and fought at Tippecanoe and River Rasin, in fact, was 
throughout the campaign with Generals Shelby, Medcalf and Desha 
and Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Tecumseh fame. While engaged 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 687 

in this campaign, he was commissioned Brigadier General, which 
position he held up to 1824, when he resigned on account of some 
misunderstanding between himself and General Dasha. General 
Eastin came to Henderson in f843, settled and died here some years 
afterwards. 

John Francis Lockett, the subject of this sketch, in politics has 
always been recognized as a warm, unflinching Democrat. In religion 
a firm, consistent Baptist from his thirteenth year, at which time he 
was baptised and received into the church. He is a member of Ivy 
Lodge, Knights of Pythias, made one in 1885. 

JOHN THOMAS RUBY was born in Henderson County Octo- 
ber 19th, 1846, and was educated from the Common Schools of the 
State. The place of his birth is now in Webster, that county having 
been formed in 1860 from a portion of Henderson, Hopkins and 
Union. Mr. Ruby's paternal grandfather, John B. Ruby, was one of the 
earliest settlers in the Green River country. His maternal grand ' 
father was Joseph Fuquay, also one of the earliest settlers, and in 
very early times, well known in the town of Henderson, he being, for 
a long time, the proprietor of the leading hotel here. His father was 
B. S. Ruby, born in what is now Webster County, in the year 18(>9. 
His mother, Lockey Fuquay, born in the same county in the year 
1814. They were married in the year 1837 and four children were 
born unto them — Mary, Judith, Delia and John T., our subject. All 
four of the children are living and married. The father of our subject 
followed farming all of his life. The subject of this sketch was raised 
to a farmer's life, but, upon attaining to his majority, engaged in 
merchandising at Vandersburg, Webster County, and pursued that 
calling for ten years. On the twenty-second day of July, 1869, he 
married Miss Alice Orr, of Webster, and four children live to bless 
the parental household, Maude, a young lady of great beauty and 
personal charms, Ed. Bayne, Clint, and Ashby. In October, 1877, 
Mr. Ruby removed with his family to Henderson and embarked 
largely in the purchase and sale of stoves, tinware and general house 
hold goods. His trade has increased, and additions have been made 
to his stock until to-day his great three-story Main Street emporium 
resolves itself into a miniature exposition, being literally packed with 
necessary household goods and fancy articles charming to the eye. 
In addition to a varied assortment of stoves of all designs and make, 
he manufactures largely tin, sheet iron and copper ware. 

By dint of industry and close application, Mr. Ruby has built for 
himself a large trade, one of which he is justly proud. In religion he 



688 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

is a member of the Christian or Reformed Church, having attached 
himself to that denomination in 1874. He is a Prohibitionist of 
the strictest type, and is an indefatigable worker in the temperance 
cause, not that he fears for himself, but that he may benefit his race. 
In this Mr. Ruby is sincere ; he is no croaker, no radical ; he feels 
for the frailties of man, and, in place of dealing in abuse, he deals 
o-ently, encouraging the unfortunate to better ways and a happier life. 
He is guided by sympathy alone. In politics he holds it a right to 
vote as he chooses, at all times selecting, as his judgment dictates, 
the best man. He is an open, frank, Christian gentleman. He is 
popular with every one, and wields an influence second to none when 
he chooses to exercise that power. There are few better posted men 
and few that can defeat him in any enterprise, political or otherwise, 
when he takes a part to win. He was never an office seeker himself, 
although he has done magnificent work in behalf of seveial of his 
friends. He has served, with credit to himself, as Trustee of the 
Public School, but only for a short term. 

GEORGE EDWARD BELT..-- There are few ^en living, per- 
haps, whose lives have been so varied and yet around whose name 
and character clusters more evidences of the " well done, good and 
faithful," than are to be found associated with that of the subject of 
this sketch. Few men have gone out into the world, scantily equipped 
as he was, to meet its frowns and face its arrogant demands, who can 
sit down, at his age, in a comfortable home, surrounded by a happy 
family, and know that he is the possessor of a sufficiency, not only to 
keep the wolf from his door, but know that he is assured against that 
same world in his old, old age. George Edward Bell was born in 
Baltimore County, Maryland, on the second day of August, 1822. His 
father was William Bell, a cooper by trade and a farmer. He was a 
soldier in the War of 1812 and '14, under General Strieker, and 
earned an honorable distinction in offering himself a living sacrifice 
in defense of his country. William Bell married, in Baltimore County, 
Achsah Smith, unto whom were born eleven children, namely : Hannah, 
Mary, George E., William, Abraham and Isaac, (twins), James (who 
died in infancy), Joseph, Emry, Kenneth and Caleb. Of this number, 
only two are living at this writing, the subject of this sketch being 
one of that number. The paternal grandfather was Edward Bell, a 
Scotch-Irishman by birth. His maternal grandfather was Adam 
Smith, of German origin. Both of these gentlemen were farmers in 
Maryland and both of them died and were buried in that State. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 689 

George E. Bell, the subject of this sketch, received what might 
be termed a fair country school education — a man of his natural turn 
might have attained to a fair education without the aid of the country 
pettifogger, who pretends to form minds. His mind, at this day — 
what it may have been in his N'outh, we do not know — is broad, com- 
prehensive, capable of grasping any subject. He is a great reader of 
the literature of the day, and digests it, as few men can. However, 
we are a getting away from the object in view. His life alternated — 
sometimes he lived in the City of Baltimore, sometimes out in the 
county, but, all the time, improving his limited opportunities. By 
nature and choice, he favored the life of a carpenter, and, to accom- 
plish this purpose, gave himself studiously to the work before him. 
By the aid of a clear, quick, mathematical head, a keen eye and an 
earnest desire to learn, he soon mastered and has stood in the front 
rank of woodworkers since. On the twenty-sixth day of June, 1848, 
he was married to Miss Elizabeth Shipley, of Baltimore Ccunty, and 
by that marriage, seven children have been born unto them, to-wit : 
Mary, Frank, x\nnie, Rosa, Joseph, William and Walter, all now 
living except Frank. 

A few years after his marriage Mr. Bell was engaged at work in 
a car shop, and, while operating a circular saw, was struck by a flying 
piece of timber and killed for the time being. He recovered con- 
sciousness some time after, but was unable, for several days, to 
resume his work again. In the winter of 1853 or '54, he went to York 
County, Pennsylvania, and engaged in farming for the period of one 
year. At the end of that time he gave up his farm and returned to 
Marylan I, where he worked on a farm for five years. During that 
time he made two trips West to Richmond, Indiana, working at his 
trade there one entire winter. In the fall of 1862, while in Maryland, 
he was drafted into the army. Not h...i g a military turn, and 
certainly no disposition to kill or be killed, he left the State and 
immigrated to Indiana, locating at Princeton. He worked at that 
place during the winter, and from thence went to Evansville, where 
he was appointed foreman in building United States hospitals. In 
August, 1863, he came to Henderson and remained until August, 
1864, when he again returned to Indiana, locating at Fort Branch, 
where he remained until 1865. He then returned to Henderson and 
has lived here since, enjoying his share of contracting and building. 

At the age of nineteen, Mr. Bell connected himself with the 
Methodist Church, and has ever been consistent and devoted to its 
tenets. At this time he is Superintendent of the Sunday School. He 

44 



690 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

joined Friendship Lodge, I. O. O. F., Baltimore, 1847, and has had 
his membership transferred to the Lodge at this place. He has three 
married children : Annie, married Robert Brashear, now living in St. 
Louis, has four children, George, Lizzie, Luther and Harry ; Rosa 
married George McMuUin and has two living children, Walter and 
Benjamin ; William recently married Miss Ida Quinn. 

Mr. Bell, in addition to his city interests, owns two hundred 
acres of valuable farming lands in that section of the county known 
as Frog Island. 

EDWARD MANION was born in the City of New Albany, on 
the second day of September, 1850. His father, James Manion, was 
born in County Longford, Ireland, in the year 1810. His mother, 
Katharine Nowland, was born in the same country and county in the 
year 1822. The father and mother were married in Ireland in 1834, 
and a short time after the father sailed alone for America, landing at 
the Port of New Orleans. A short time after his arrival in this coun- 
try he shipped as mate on one of the Mississippi and Ohio River 
steamers, plying between New Orleans and Louisville. He then sent 
a message to his wife to come to America, which she did soon after, 
landing at the port of New York. Mr. Manion met her and returned 
to New Orleans, where he made his home for two years or more, when 
he transferred his residence to Louisville. Soon after his arrival at 
Louisville he engaged as superintending boss of a large pork house, 
and continued in this capacity up to the year 1848, when he removed 
to New Albany, Indiana, and engaged in railroad contracting. He 
built the road bed of the New Albany and Salem Railroad, besides 
doing other heavy contract work. In April, 1851, Mrs. Manion died, 
leaving him with quite a family of young children to care for, our sub- 
ject being one of the number. Life became a burden to him; the love 
he bore his little ones and their well being, preyed upon his mind, 
until he determined to marry, provided he could find one in his opin- 
ion suited for wife and mother. He was not long in finding a lady 
whom he looked upon as one in every way fitted to fill the specifica- 
tions. He woed and won, and in September, 1851 was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary Shearn. at her home in New Albany. Six 
months after, Mr. Manion, with his family, removed to Cannelton, 
Indiana, and there opened a grocery store. He remained there but 
a short time, when he removed to Cloverport and engaged in the 
grocery business and hotel keeping. Fortune smiled upon him and 
he continued to do business there till the fall of 1858, when he removed 
with his family to Henderson. About the time of his arrival here 



\ HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 691 

there was a large amount of street improvement, grading, graveling, 
guttering and curbing advertised to be let at contract. Mr. Manion, 
aided by past experience, becagie a formidable and successful bidder, 
and was awarded a iarge amount of street work, which he completed, 
and for which he was well and sufficiently paid. He built and suc- 
cessfully condug:ed the two-story hotel on the southwest corner of 
Elm and First Street, the building in which his son, the subject of this 
sketch, is now a half owner and carrying on a grocery business. Mr. 
Manion was a successful farmer, and, altogether, a thrifty money mak- 
ing man. 

Edward Manion, the subject of this sketch, was educated from 
private schools taught in Henderson. Arriving at his majority he en- 
gaged soon thereafter in the grocery business, and has followed that 
occupation to this day. On the sixteenth of June, 1880, he married Miss 
Eliza Carroll, and three children have been born to them — James and 
Katie born twins, and Mary and Dora. Katie died in infancy. In poli- 
tics Mr Manion has always been known as a Democrat, in religion 
Catholic born and raised. He is a member of the Catholic Knights 
of America, and a devoted lover of Old Ireland and her people. He 
is now serving his third term of two years as a member of the City 
Council, having each time been elected over a strong opposition. His 
interest, manifested by the display of energy and sound judgment upon 
all matters appertaining to the city's weal, has made him popular in 
his ward, and, therefore, likely to retain him in the city's service so 
long as he chooses to divide his time with his own personal affairs and 
that of the public. 

KONRAD GEIBEL. — Konrad Geibel, the parental head of the 
family of whom^his sketcb relates, was born in Wachenheim, Bavaria, 
on the eighth day of September, 1815. His father, Peter Geibel, with 
whom he lived until he arrived at the age of twenty-one years, was a 
shoemaker by education and profession, and under his guidance, our 
subject, at the age of fourteen years, became one of the most expert 
workmen in his native town. Under the rules of that country social, 
if not governmental, every child was required to attend Sabbath 
School up to his or her eighteenth year, and at the age of fourteen to 
be examined in church studies,and, if upon examination, the child was 
found proficient, he or she was then taken to the church for confirma- 
tion and given the first Sacrament. It was made the duty for every 
one to attend church service in the forenoon, and of all children to 
attend Sunday School in the afternoon. The services and mode of 
teaching was the same as that adopted by the Presbyterian Church of 



692 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

this country. Mr. Geibel went through all of the required forms and 
graduated in the church with credit to himself. In the year 1838, he 
married Miss Annie M. Keller, of his native place, and with her and 
his eldest son, Konrad, who was born in Bavaria, he set sail for 
America in the year 1840. The family embarked in a two-masted ves- 
sel at Havre, and was thirty-two days to the day upon the ocean, 
when the vessel landed at the port of New York. His object was to 
join some friends then living in the neighborhood of Evansville, Ind., 
and, after having recruited fully from his sea voyage, he started on his 
Westward journey, going by canal boat from New York to Buffalo, 
thence by lake to Cleveland, thence by canal to Portsmouth, Ohio, on 
the Ohio River, and thence by steamboat to Evansville, landing there 
in precisely thirty-two days after leaving New York, and the identical 
number spent in crossing the ocean. 

Mr. Geibel remained in Evansville only fourteen days, owing to 
the low price of wages, and it is not necessary to say that he was home- 
sick and disappointed. About that time he hired to come to Hender- 
son, and he did so, entering the shoeshop of John Boiler, then estab- 
lished in a miserable old log shanty on the southeast corner of Main 
and Second Streets. This house was known as the old Henderson 
Bank, and in the garret was a box or two filled with old and worthless 
bank notes. The building was twenty-five or thirty feet long, with a 
clabboard roof. At that time Evansville was a larger place than Hen- 
derson, but better inducements were offered mechanics here. Upon 
the arrival of our subject at Henderson great difficulty was exper- 
ienced in getting a house in which to shelter his family. Governor 
Dixon at the time occupied two rooms in the brick on Main Street, 
recently torn down by Mann Brothers; the front room he used for his 
office, the rear room for consultation. He had taken quite a fancy to 
the newcomer, and, in the goodness of his heart, offered him the use 
of the rear room until better provision could be made. This kind 
offer was accepted, and into this room the little family lived for some 
time afterward. 

In the year 1841, our subject formed a co-partnership with John 
Delker, under the firm name of Delker & Geibel, and purchased the 
stock of John Burke, then carrying on the shoemaking trade in a little 
frame building that stood near where the Planters' Bank is now sit- 
uated. This firm was one year in business, and paid five dollars for 
the rent of the house. At the end of this time Mr. Geibel embarked 
in the shoemaking business on his own account, and, by energy, in- 
dustry and honest effort, soon built up a large and paying trade. He 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 693 

was very popular with all classes, particularly, those persons best able 
to pay him well for his work. So well did he keeo his promises, so 
honest was he in all his dealings, that this large patronage stood by 
him up to the time his health failed, and he was forced to quit work. 
Economy and prudent management brought him a handsome compe- 
tency to comfort him and his faithful life partner in their old age. They 
have living five boys, Konrad, George, Peter, John VV. and Frederick, 
all remarkable for their native intellect and fine business character. 
Mr. Geibel has ever lived one of Henderson's best and most enterpris- 
ing citizens, and the writer is proud to say that no man to-day enjoys 
the confidence and esteem of the community to a greater deg^ree than 
does he 

John W. Geibel was born in the Towm of Henderson on the 
sixteenth day of June, 1853. He was educated from the private schools 
of the town, and at the age of fifteen, August, 1868, entered the drug 
store of W. S. Johnson & Bro. as a clerk. Here he remained, apply- 
ing himself with an assiduity and intelligence that soon won for him 
the unqualified confidence of his employers, until the winter of 1874 
and '75, when he went to Philadelphia and entered Philadelphia Col 
lege of Pharmacy. He remained in this college during the term of 
1875, and then returned to Henderson. A short time after his return 
home, he accepted a position in the drug house of Hon. T. C. Brid- 
well, at Evansville, Ind. A few months thereafter he went to St. 
Louis, and formed a co-partnership with Dr. King, of Madisonville, 
Ky., and opened a drug store. For reasons best known to himself, 
one month after the organization of the firm, he sold out his interest 
to his partner, and accepted a clerkship in the drug house of Ed. N. 
Harris, St. Louis, where he remained seven months. At the end of 
that time he returned to Henderson, and a few weeks afterwards ac- 
cepted a position wi<"h Dr. Kinkead, at Paducah, Kentucky. He 
remained with Dr. Kinkead just one month and a half, and then re- 
turned again to his home in Henderson. A short time after this 
return, he re-entered the employ of W. S. Johnson & Bro., where he 
remained up to June, 1884, when a co-partnership was formed between 
himself and Charles F. Kleiderer, an experienced druggist, under the 
firm name of Kleiderer & Geibel. This firm immediately opened the 
elegant " Post Office " Drug Store, on Second Street, in Odd Fellow's 
building. These young men were complimented by a large patronage 
from the first day their doors were opened to the public, but so 
steadily, and surely did it increase, that in August, 1886, in order to 
amplify the influence and patronage of the firm, a lot was purchased 



694 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

on the corner of Green and Center Streets, opposite the public school, 
and a very handsome two-story brick store house erected thereon. 
This new house is, perhaps, the handsomest in its interior finish to be 
found in Henderson. The subject of this sketch has charge of Lhe 
new store while his partner holds the reins over the parent stem, or 
Second Street store. Mr. Geibel is the owner of several nice tene- 
ment houses in addition to his drug store property, and is continually 
adding to his already well earned little fortune. His life is a living 
example of what can be accomplished by regular habits, prudent liv- 
ing, assiduous work and thoughtful judgment. He is on the high road 
to prosperity undisputed, and none deserves it more than he. It is not 
luck with him, but the outcome of good, sound, native and acquired 
sense. 

NINO MITCHUSON.— The subject of this sketch is one of 
those peculiarly good, big-hearted men whom all men respect, and 
who, in return, lets his light so shine, that he is universally beliked 
by all with whom he is acquainted. If the writer may be permitted 
to advance a remark, without being accused of soothing, by praise, he 
will say that there cannot, perhaps, be found in this land a man em- 
bodying more of the characteristics of a philosopher. He is, to a great 
degree, a student of moral and intellectual science, and certainly no man 
takes the trials incident to life more calmly than does he. Well, to 
make, what could be made with truth, a long story come within the 
scope of a biographical work of this magnitude, we will say that Mr. 
Mitchuson, whose name appears at the head of this article, is a son of 
Col. James F. Mitchuson and Elizabeth Young, native Kentuckians. 
His grandfather Mitchuson fought with other gallant Kentuckians at 
the battle of New Orleans, and was one among the distinguished.. 
Our subject was born at Princeton, Kentucky, on the twenty-ninth 
day of Aucrust, 1832, and was educated at Cumberland College. In 
1861 he married Miss Maria A, Rudy, at her home in Lyon County, 
Kentucky, Mrs. Mitchuson is a daughter of Wm. Rudy, an early 
citizen of Henderson, and a granddaughter of James Alves, one of the 
earliest comers here, and great-granddaughter of Walter Alves, one of 
the partners in the Henderson grant. Her birthright dates back to 1797 
and no better stock is to be found in Kentucky. These two good 
people have had born unto them four children, Charles, Mary Alves, 
Bessie and Maggie Rudy, all living. There is a no more happy home 
Sunshine around the hearth at all seasons. Mr. Mitchuson followed 
farming in Caldwell County, after arriving at his majority, up to the 
year 1862, when be came to Henderson, Since his life here, he has 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 695 

followed farming, occasionally indulging in a harmless speculation 
that could in no wise cripple, even though it resulted contrary to his 
wish. He has never held an office and was never a candidate for 
one, though, upon. a number of occasions, he has been an active 
participant in the interest of his friends. He is a loyal Democrat. 
Many years ago he was baptised in the Baptist faith and connected 
himself with the " Blue Spring " Church, of Caldwell County. Since 
his residence in this county, latterly, at least, he has shown himself 
more of a latitudinarian than one wedded to any one religious sect. 
He is liberal in his church views and gives, as he has often said, 
"every man a chance for his white alley." 

Charles Mitchuson, the eldest child of Ning Mitchuson and 
Maria A. Rudy, was born at Princeton, Kentucky, on the twenty-sev- 
enth day of May, 1863. He received a liberal education, and has ever 
been highly esteemed for his social qualities. On the twenty-fourth 
day of November, 1886, he married Miss Laura Barnett, of Hender- 
son, a niece of the late Esquire John E. McCallister, and a young 
lady combining all of the graces of gentle womanhood necessary to 
make her husband's home and life all that this poor world can give. 
They are happily mated, and the writer hopes that their lives may be 
uninterrupted by a single jar. Mr. Mitchuson, a year or more ago, 
embarked in the merchant tailoring business, and is to-day at the 
head of one of the largest establishments, carrying a well assorted 
and various stock of goods in his line. Life shines brightly before 
him and mav he realize it. 

FREDERICK KLEIDERER was born in Alsace, a German 
District, which was reunited to that country in 1871, after two cen- 
turies' possession by France. His birth occurred on the eleventh day 
of September, 1835, at Woerth, on the Sauer, the place where General 
McMahon fought his great battle of the Franco-Prussian War, August 
6th, 1870, and, at an early age, was sent to the public schools, where he 
was instructed in both the German and French languages. His father? 
Frederick Kleiderer, is living and enjoying fine health. His mother's 

maiden name was Salome Dobbleman. She departed this life Febru- 
ary, 1885, just five months after our subject had crossed the deep 
blue sea from a visit to her. Mr. Kleiderer's paternal ancestors were 
Swiss; his maternal ancestors were natives of Wurtemberg. The 
father of our subject served seven years in the French army as a 
member of the Thirty-eighth Infantry, during the reign of Charles X. 
and Louis Phillipe. In October, 1853, Mr. K. came to America, and 
in August, the following year, moved out West and settled in the town 
of Caseyville, Union County, and there opened a merchant tailoring 
establishment. 



696 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Mr. Kleiderer was in the tailoring business but a short time when 
he accepted a position as Superintendent of a wharf boat at Weston, 
Kentucky, in the employ of Captain Richard Foard. He remained 
at Weston until 1855, when he returned to Caseyville and again em- 
barked in the tailoring trade. On the eleventh day of July, 1856, he 
married, in Henderson, Miss Louisa Geibel, sister of Konrad Geibel, 
a highly esteemed citizen, and reiurned to Caseyville. They have had 
six children, five of whom are living, Charles F., Louis Phillipe, Kon- 
rad, William S., and Phillipe. The eldest child, Louisa, died, when 
two and a half years of age, at Caseyville. 

During the year 1864, Mr. Kleiderer, with his family, removed to 
Henderson and has since resided here. In September, 1862, during 
the War of the Rebellion, he enlisted in the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, 
Captain Hillman's Company, Colonel J. M. Schackelford's Regiment, 
but, owing to an overplus of volunteers, the company was disbanded. 
In January, 1864, our subject was elected and commissioned Captain 
of Company A, Second Battalion, One Hundred and Third Regiment. 
Kentucky Militia, by Governor Thomas E. Bramlett. 

Since the war, and up to a year ago, he has successfully carried 
on the merchant tailoring trade and has enjoyed a lucrative patron- 
age. He has served the city in a number of official capacities, in no 
single instance falling short of the confidence imposed in him by his 
people. Two terms, of nearly five years, he served as Councilman, 
and, during that time, was a recognized leader. This was owing to 
his high sense of honor, his excellent judgment and his far seeing 
intellioence upon all matters of public moment. Five years ago, he 
was elected Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of Water Com- 
missioners, and is serving in that capacity at this writing. 

Mr. Kleiderer was raised and educated in the Evangelical Lu- 
theran Church faith and possesses an intelligent understanding of 
the doctrine as is taught by his church. He is a member of Stranger's 
Rest Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 13, and has been seated and presided 
in all of the chairs. 

He is also a member of the Grand Lodge and was made District 
Deputy for Henderson County by the Grand Master in 1870. Mr. 
Kleiderer is an enthusiastic member of the order and has done a great 
deal of work in its interest. He has ever been a warm friend of the 
Fire Department of the city, and one time was one of its most active 
members. All in all, the subject of this sketch has proven himself a 
valuable citizen — certainly, in all truth and sincerity, it can be said of 
him and his good wife, that they are the parents of five of the most 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 697 

promising, energetic and high toned young men that are to be found 
in all this broad land of ours. * 

MILTON YOUNG. — Thgre is no name associated with the his- 
tory of Henderson County, so remarkable in all of its fortunate sur- 
roundings, as that of Milton Young, The eventful life of this young 
man has been marked by a success unparalleled in the history of most 
counties of the country, and has been frequently attributed to what is 
commonly denominated luck ; this opinion, however, arises from a 
want of knowledge of the man. His " luck," as it is called, was the 
outcropping of a splendid mind, evenly balanced in the art of money 
making, and remarkably strong in cogent powers, necessary to direct 
and govern a most successful business life. Governed by the highest 
principles of social and business order, modest and unassuming, even 
in the zenith of his successes, non-communicative in matters important 
to himself, strictly temperate and sober in all of the phases of life, 
liberal and accommodating in friendship, and a brother in fact and deed, 
he has thus won for himself in the race for life a name, national in 
itself, a name as honorable as it is national. Milton Young was born 
in Union County, Ky., on the first day of January, 1851, and is the 
fifth soii of Judge Milton Young and Maria Thompson. Jud'^e Young 
moved to Henderson when the subject of this sketch was eight years 
of age. His school days were spent here, and by close application 
to his studies, under the guidance of two or more competent teachers, 
he qualified himself for life's journey. 

In 1867, when only sixteen years of age, he borrowed the neces- 
sary amount to enable him to open a very small tobacco and cigar 
store, in an eight by six foot store room, adjoining the old drug house 
of George Lvne, on MaiYi Street. To this business the young man 
applied himself, and soon gained a lucrative trade. In October, 1869 
two years after, he sold his stock and went to Hopkinsville, where h* 
engaged in the same business, in an old building on Main Street, ad- 
joining what was then known as the Ford House. During this time, 
he was appointed on the Hopkinsville police force, and served in that 
capacity to the time of a difficulty between himself and the Marshal, 
some six months after. An unpleasantness had existed for some time 
between him and A. M. Laub, City Marshal, which finally resulted in 
a shooting scrape, wherein Mr. Young was shot twice Laub and his 
friend, Ed. Gerhart, met Young in front of the Court House door 
about nine o'clock on the morning of August, 1869, and thereupon 
renewed the old fued. In the melee pistols were fired by both par 
ties, and the wonder is that the gallant policeman lived to tell the 



698 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Story of the rencounter. The determination of Laub and Gerhart was 
evidently to take his life, but a kind providence and a bold and fear- 
less spirit manifested on the part of Mr. Young, protected him from a 
literally mangling of flesh and bones. He received, however, two 
shots, one in the abdomen and one under the shoulder blade, passing 
under the skin, and coming out at the neck. Both parties fired on 
him. From the effect of these wounds he was confined to his room 
about six weeks. About a year afterwards he returned to Henderson, 
and again embarked in the tobacco and cigar trade, in an old frame 
building on Main Street, where now stands a handsome row of bricks » 
built for retail stores. By economy, he had saved enough to enable 
him to purchase the three little old frames then standing, one of which 
he occupied himself. He continued in business one and one-half 
years and then sold out. For some months after this, he amused 
himself in a leisure way, spending, perhaps, the most of his time on the 
Richland farm with his sister, Mrs. Buckman. In January, 1876, he 
organized the firm of Norris & Young, and opened a large hardware 
and agricultural house on Main Street, between Second and Third. 
While Mr. Young exercised a supervisory care over the business of 
the firm, Mr. Norris was yet the active partner, and was intrusted with 
the management and conduct of the business. During this partner 
ship Mr. Young purchased at Nashville two race horses, Old Joe 
Rhodes and Duncan F. Kenner ; this was in the fall of 1878. In the 
spring of '79 he commenced his turf life at Louisville, and at this 
meeting won two races with Joe Rhodes. Kenner started once, was 
defeated and afterwards sold. Joe Rhodes was taken to the St. Louis 
meeting following, and was there sold. In this spring he purchased of 
General Harding, of " Belle Meade " NashviJle, Boot Jack, one year 
old ; Manitou, one vear old, and Boswell, two vears old. In the month 
of May, he purchased of J. J. Merrill, Louisville^ Bancroft, a two year 
old. In the fall, he purchased of Douglas & Co. Beatitude, a three 
year old. The aggregate cost of the five racers amounted to $2,455. 
These horses were brought to Henderson and wintered, and in the 
spring of 1880 shipped to Louisville. This spring his stable, consist- 
ing of the above named horses, made its debut at Nashville, running 
Bancroft, Beatitude and Boot Jack, and all winning. From Nashville, 
the stable was taken to Louisville, where Beatitude alone won. From 
Louisville the stable was taken to St. Louis, and here all three won. 
Beatitude won three races, Bancroft won the Missouri Derby, and 
Boot Jack won his race. From St. Louis to Chicago, here, Bancroft 
won three stakes and Beatitude three purse races, one of which was 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 699 

the three best in five, mile heats, to which was added $2,500, the 
largest purse ever run for in a three in five race. She also won one 
stake race m the very remarkal^Je time of 2.Sj4 and 1^ miles. At 
Detroit Bancroft won the Michigan Derby, and a mile heat stake for 
three year olds. He was the only starter from Mr. Young's stable at 
"that meeting. From Detroit the stable was taken to Saratoga, New 
York, and at that meeting Beatitude and Boot Jack both won a purse 
race each. From Saratoga, the stable wjs returned to the fall meet- 
ing, held at Louisville, where Beatitude failed in her fore legs and 
was withdrawn from the turf. Boot Jack won the two year old stake. 
At Nashville, the next week Boot Jack started and was second to 
Lelex ; Bancroft won the Cumberland stakes, two miles for three 
year olds. This ended the racing season of 1880, and Mr. Young's 
winnings, when calculated, showed the large sum of $19,600. During 
this year, Manitou and Boswell were sold, and such horses added to 
his stable as Lost Cause, Boatman, Getawav, and Beatrice. 

At the beginning of the spring 1881 races, Mr. Young's stable 
was much stronger than it was the previoxis year. He started at 
Nashville, with his stable, and at the meeting Boot Jack won the 
" Belle Meade " stake 1^ miles ; Bancroft won the 1^ mile, *'Rail- 
road Stakes ;" at Louisville, just afterwards, Bancroft won the " In- 
augural" rush 1^ miles, defeating the famous Checkmate. He also 
won the Louisville Cup, 2^ miles, beating Checkmate and Mendel- 
sohn. For this race Mr. Young had Bancroft heavily backed in the 
books, and as a veritable consequence won what is called in turf par- 
lance, 'S^ barrel of 1710 ?iey.^'' At Cincinnati, the following week, Critic, 
and Monogram were purchased of Captain Wm. Cottrell. This stable, 
comprising Boot Jack, Bancroft, Getaway, Beatrice, Monogram and 
Critic, was entered in six races, and ran without defeat, winning the 
entire six, in which the horses were entered. At St. Louis, the follow- 
ing week, Boatman and Critic each won a race, Getaway ran and won 
the best 1^ mile heat race on record; Bancroft won two races, one of 
which was the Brewers' Cup, 2)^ miles. In this race, as at Louisville, 
Mr. Young had Bancroft heavily backed. At Chicago the following 
week Getaway won the best 2 mile heat race ever run by a three year 
old. Lost Cause won his debutant effort. At Saratoga, Getaway and 
Boot Jack won six races each. It was here Getaway was matched 
against Eole for $2,500 and suffered defeat. At this meeting Mr. 
Young purchased Perplex and Patti. Perplex won four races, Patti 
won one. From Saratoga the stable was brought to the fall meeting 
at Lexington. Here Getaway won the Viley Stakes, Lost Cause, the 



700 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

two colt Stakes, and Boot Jack, two purse races. In the Station stake 
Getawav broke down in his fore legs, and was afterwards sold ; Patti 
won the Inaugural Rush. At Louisville, Lost Cause won both the 
two year old events ; Boot Jack won four races, one being the '' Great 
American Stallion " stake, the other the Turf stake ; Perplex won two 
races out of three starts. At Nashville, the last meeting of the year 
1881, and after having run at the same place in the spring, subse- 
quently at Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, Saratoga, Lex- 
ington and again at Louisville - the renowned Boot Jack won here 
two races on the same day, and the following day won the Cumber- 
land stakes, mile heats for three year olds ; Lost Cause won the two 
year old stake. This closed the year 1881, and upon an accurate cal- 
cuiation Mr. Young's purse and stake winnings aggregated the round 
sum of $37,700, nearly double that of 1880. During 1881, Mr. Young 
added to his stable Bondholder and Ascender, and the spring of 1882 
found his string of flyers < omposed as follows, Bondholder, Boot 
Jack, Bancroft, Perplex, Lost Cause, Monogram, Patti, Ascender, 
Boatman, Glen Arm and several others not worthy of mention. This 
spring found the Young stable in elegant form for the year's work. 
The spring of '82 racing, so far as this stable was concerned, com- 
menced at Louisville, and here as a successful starter. Monogram won 
the one mile dash, and the mile heat race for three year olds; Bancroft 
won the mile dash in 1.42^ It was here that Bondholder defeated 
the celebrated " Punster," and several others for the Runnymeade 
stakes for two year olds. At St. Louis, Monogram won the Missouri 
Derby, and a mile dash ; Bancroft won two races, one l}i and 1^ 
miles ; Boot Jack won three races, 1^ miles, Ij^ miles and mile heats ; 
Ascender won the ^ mile and 1 mile, for two year olds ; Perplex won 
the ^ of a mile ; Lost Cause won the 1^ mile dash, and Glen Arm 
J^ mile dash. At this meeting Mr. Young won the first day's pro- 
gramme, consisting of four races, with four horses as follows : Mono- 
gram, " Missouri Derby," Boot Jack, mile heats, Ascender, ^ mile 
dash, Bancroft, 1}^ miles. Such unprecedented fortune was never 
known to fall to the lot of a turfman before in the historv of racing. 
At Chicago, Boatman made his first appearance for the year, winning 
a mile race for three year olds ; Ascender won two valuable two year 
old stakes, ^ and 1 mile ; Boot Jack won two races, one at a mile anfl 
one at two miles, the longest race ever run by that horse. At Sara- 
toga Bancroft let down, and was started in a selling race, which he 
won ; he was sold for one thousand dollars. Boot Jack won several 
races, the best of which was a cash handicap l}i miles, in the fast 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 701 

time of 1.54^^ ; his stable companion, Boatman ran second. Boatman 
won four races, two of them the '• Kenna," and the "Sequel " stakes, 
perhaps the most prominent and important races ran during the meet- 
ing. Ascender ran four times, and was defeated only once. Patti 
won one race ; Monogram won two. At this meeting Mr. Young sold 
Boot Jack, Lost Cause and Perplex to the Dwyer Bros., of New York. 
Here he purchased Vera, a most promising young race mare. 

From Saratoga the Young stable was brought again to the fall 
(1882) meeting at Lexington ; here Ascender w on the two year old 
stake ; here Square Dance was jjurchased. 

At Louisville, the following week, Ascender won the mile stake 
for two-year olds ; Vera the mile stake for two-year old fillies ; Boat- 
man won the great American stallion stake. This stake has been 
in existence since the organization of the Louisville Race Course, 
and Mr. Young is the only turfman who has won ihe stake two con- 
secutive years. Square Dance won, at this meeting, two races. At 
this meeting, Mr. Young's racing career was 'brought to a close, he 
having determined to abandon it for the more pleasant and agreeable 
life of breeding for the turf. To this end, at the Louisville meeting, 
he sold <"o R. C. Pate, of St. Louis, Boatman, Monogram, Bondholder, 
Ascender, Tangent, Longway, Emperor, Rex, Embargo, Empire, En- 
voy and Endymion, absolutely. He also sold the running qualities 
for the racing season for which they were entered, the following 
fillies: Vera, Nannie D., Maria D., Tattoo, Trophy and Trinket. He 
reserved Patti and Square Dance, This sale was made for the hand- 
some sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, cash in hand paid. In 
summing up the year's business, it was found that the winnings from 
stake and purse races, amounted to $30,300. Thus, it will be seen, 
that the star of fortune had never before stuck so closely to a young man, 
in so risky a business, as it did to Mr. Young. His turf life began in 
the spring of 1879 with two broken down racers and a limited purse, 
and ended in the fall of 1882 with a stable of magnificent runners and a 
barrel of money to carry out any plan he might choose to undertake. 

For some time he had set his soul upon being the owner of McGrath- 
iana, perhaps the finest blue grass farm in ail the State of Kentucky. 
On September 14th, 1882, McGrathiana, the magnificent home of 
Price McGrath, the renowned owner of Tom Bowling, was offered for 
sale at commissioner's sale, and Milton Young, being the highest 
bidder, became the purchaser for the sum of $47,000. The farm 
comprises four hundred and seventeen acres of land, a beautiful brick 
and stone residence, elegant outbuildings and superior stables and 
breeding improvements. It is located three miles from Lexington, 
on the Newtown pike. 



702 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

It is Mr. Young's intention to make McGrathiana still more 
noted in turf annals, and, to this end, he has selected the purest 
blooded racing stock to be found in America. He now has in his 
McGrathiana stud, the celebrated stallion, Onendaga (full brother to 
Sensation), by Leamington, dam Susan Bean. Duke of Montrose, six 
years old, by Waverly, dam Kelpie by imported Bonnie Scotland. 
These two stallions have no superior in this country. He has in his 
harem forty-seven mares, which cost him on an average of one thou- 
sand dollars each. Among the number we note, Beatitude, Bliss and 
Beatrice, full sisters ; Fonwitch, full sister to Fonso; Kelpie, dam of 
Jeannette ;"Gladiola, sister to Glidelia; Black Maria, sister to Ban- 
croft ; Perhaps, dam of Perplex ; Skylight, sister to Vandlelight ; 
Olivia, dam Olitipa. Of the forty-seven mares in the harem, eight of 
them are by Imported Bonnie Scotland ; four by Imported Aus- 
tralian ; four by Imported Leamington. Twenty-seven of these mares 
foaled last spring, by such stallions as King Alphonso, Longfellow, 
King Ban and Imported Mortimer. Mr. Young sold, last spring, four 
colts: one out of Beatitude, by King Alphonso; one out of Nelly 
Booker, by Harper's Tenbroeck ; one out of Perhaps, by St. Martin, 
and one by Fellowcraft, dam an Enquirer mare. A majority of his 
mares were bred last spring to Onandago, and a few to the Duke of 
Montrose. Annual sales of vearlinsrs will be one of the main features 
of McGrathiana from this time on. 

In conclusion : During Mr. Young's turf career he has won one 
hundred and twenty-one races, been second fifty-nine times, and 
winning the sum total, in public money, of $80,100. Mr. Young 
always backed his horses, and his winnings, outside of stakes and 
purses, it is confidently said, have amounted to $200,000. Mr. Young 
has been a close observer, always keeping a watchful eye over his 
horses and never shooting at high game unless he had good guns and 
first-class ammunition. 

The following compliment, taken from the Courier-Journal, I 
heartily endorse : " The present proprietor of McGrathiana is not 
unlike that of the celebrated Captain Machell, of England. Neither 
of them has ever owned a sensational horse, nor won the greatest 
prize contended for in their respective countries ; but each of them 
has had many good ones, has managed them with rare tact and judg- 
ment, and has gained a deserving reputation for shrewdness and abil- 
ity ; the fact is Mr. Young is the " Machell " of the American turf. 

Now, after a life of success unparalleled in the history of this 
county, we come to the finale, wherein he crowns it all with a queenly 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 703 

ornament : the result of a taste in keeping with his splendid business 
judgment. To complete the victory and renown he so hurriedly builded 
all by himself, he has displayed a degree of sense surpassmg even 
the brightest of his turf life. On December the 14, 1882, he was 
married to Miss Lucie Spalding, the handsome, and highly cultured 
daughter of Hon. and Mrs. I. A. Spalding, of Morganfield Ky. A 
truly brilliant and happy event in the life of him whose young life had 
been filled with successful prolific blessings. She meets the stranger 
with an ease and grace which have a peculiar charm, showing that she 
has been accustomed to the highest circles of society, and in her 
presence he at once feels at home. Mr. Young, while on the turf, 
won 121 races, but his last victory, when he captured Mrs. Young, 
was by long odds the greatest prize and a fitting crown to his retire- 
ment. 

In conclusion, allow me to say, on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Young, 
that they are well settled down, and nothing will afford them more 
pleasure than to receive calls from friends and strangers, having both 
the ability and inclination to entertain them in true old Kentucky 
style ; in other words, the latch-string at McGrathiana always hangs 
on the outside. 

HON. OLLIE B. STEELE. (Sketch by the Hon. John A. 
Smith, Secretary Louisiana State Senate.) — The subject of this sketch 
was born at Henderson, Kentucky, on December 2d, 1844, and was 
educated at the City Academy, taught by Prof. Warner Craig. At 
the age of twelve he became a member of the " Ionian Debating So- 
ciety," a literary institution of that time, numbering many of the best 
and brightest young men of the town. 

In 1857 the Sabbath Schools of Henderson held a joint Fourth 
of July celebration, choosing orators for the occasion from among the 
members of the debating society. Young Steele appeared for the 
Christian School. The lamented Governor, L. W. Powell, was pres- 
ent, and honored the boy orators, by introducing each to the vast 
concourse of people assembled in " Alves Grove," the place of cele" 
bration. In 1858 Steele was awarded the first prize for horseman- 
ship at the Henderson Fair. Of the then students of Henderson 
Academy, those who survive will remember him as being usually hon- 
ored in its weekly debates, with first place, he being an active partic- 
ipant. From being a frequent observer of the drills and parades of 
the Kentucky State Guards, he conceived a love for military profes- 
sion, and induced the professor of the Academy to establish a mili- 
'tary company composed of the older students. At an election of offi- 



704 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

cers, he was chosen Captain of the company, which post he held until 
he enlisted in the Confederate Army, being several times re elected. 
The boy soldiers were known as "The Academy Blues, "their uniform 
consisting of blue jacket and grey pantaloons. Their drill be- 
came so excellent, that the boy company soon eclipsed both Home 
and State Guards. In 18G0 they gave a drill on the fair grounds, win- 
ning applause from the thousands of people present. In the spring 
of 1861, the famous " Eleventh Indiana Zouaves, " commanded by 
General, then Colonel Lew ',Vallace, were encamped at Evansville, 
and the "Academy Blues" paid them a visit. The company were 
welcomed by Colonel Wallace in a neat speech, which was responded 
to by Captain Steele, who then put the '• Blues " through their drill 
in the presence of the Zouaves, winning the admiration of the regi- 
ment. In August, 1861, when not yet seventeen years old, he en- 
tered the Confederate army, enlisting in Captain James Ingram's com- 
pany of the Fourth Kentucky Infantry, but did not go into active ser- 
vice until the following October, when Henderson was occupied by a 
Federal regiment under Colonel Cruft. While Cruft's regiment was 
on dress parade, Steele, Major Ed Rankin and others, stole out of 
the city on their way to join General Buckner at Bowling Green. On 
the following morning, the party breakfasted at Madisonville, forty 
miles distant. Arriving at 'Bowling Green, Steele attached himself to 
the " Issaqueena Artillery," afterwards known as the famous " Graves' 
Battery," of which Major Rice Graves was the first Captain. Because 
of his small stature and tender age, Ollie was made bugler of the com- 
pany. Owing to his knowledge of infantry tactics, he was also em- 
ployed as drill master, at the same time acting as clerk to Major T. 
R. Hotchkiss, who had charge of the ordinance stores and of the 
mounting of the heavy guns in the several forts around Bowling 
Green. Now the terrible realities of civil strife became vividly im- 
pressed upon his mind. His battery participated in the four days' 
fight at Fort Donelson, where many Henderson boys were engaged on 
either side. 

Friend fought friend, and brother fought brother, the blue and 
the grey of Henderson immediately confronted each other in the last 
day's battle. Stretched upon the field, with a mortal wound in his 
breast, Steele saw his brother Cyrus, who had joined the Union army. 
Here, Dudley, seeing a Federal officer lying, wrapped in a blanket, at 
the foot of a large tree, seemingly fatally wounded, and, thinking his 
end near, remarked : " He ought to be killed." The officer replied : 
" I am Colonel Logan, of the Illinois regiment, and have but a 




CAPT. O. B. STEEL. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 705 

short time to live." The Colonel recovered, was afterwards promoted 
to Major General, and, subsequent to the war, served as United States 
Senator from Illinois up to his death. 

After the capture of Donelson, many of the Henderson boys, who 
had espoused the cause of the blue,, visited Graves' Battery and talked 
of by-gone days. This company, among others, were sent prisoners 
to Camp Morton, Indianapolis, Indiana, where they remained until 
the following September, when they were sent to Cairo, and from 
thence, by way of the river, to Vicksburg, where they were exchanged. 
From Vicksburg, the company were marched to Jackson, and, after 
halting there a few days, were hurried forward to Knoxville to join 
General J. C. Breckenridge, who was organizing a command to enter 
Kentucky and reinforce Bragg. During Breckenridge's advance to 
Cumberland Gap, and subsequent return to Chattanooga and Mur- 
freesboro, Steele, by his activity and close attention to details, was 
promoted to Corporal and Sergeant in rapid succession. He was by 
far the best drilled officer in Graves' Battery, and, for this reason, was 
most frequently detailed to drill duty. He fought with this battery at 
Harisville, where two thousand Federals were captured. 

At Murfreesboro, owing to the wounding of many officers of the 
battery, Steele was given command of one section. During the Winter 
of 1863, he was tendered the office of First Lieutenant of the Fourth 
Kentucky, Ingram's Company, and accepted. With this regiment he 
served in the Joe Johnston campaign for the reliet of Vicksburg, and 
fought at the battle of Jackson. Major Rice Graves recommended 
him to General Breckenridge for promotion in the ordinance service, 
but this was declined on account of his age. At Chickamauga, during 
the second day's fight, the Fourth Kentucky captured a section of 
Federal artillery, which, but for the skill and indomitable watchfulness 
of Steele, would have been recaptured. This valued prize he turned 
over to General Forrest in person. 

While on the field of battle, General Breckenridge rode up to 
Steele and ordered him to report to Cobb's Battery, Major Graves 
having been mortally wounded. While the army lay in front of Chat- 
tanooga, Steele became Acting Adjutant of Artillery of Breckenridge's 
Division, and subsequently Acting Adjutant for the corps, which 
position he filled with signal ability until the battle of Missionary 
Ridge. 

Breckenridge's Division went into winter quarters at Kingston, 
Georgia, and, during that time, Steele obtained a leave of absence for 
thirty days, during which time he visited Henderson, his native home. 

45 



706 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

He made the journey from Princeton to Henderson, a distance of 
seventy miles, in one day, upon the back of a mule. His leave of 
absence having expired, he rejoined his command and remained with 
the Fourth Kentucky until near the close of the Atlanta campaign, 
when he resigned. He went to Tupelo, and there asked authority of 
General Forrest to enter Kentucky and recruit a company for artil- 
lery service. His application was granted and General Abe Buford 
issued to him all necessary papers. In August, 1864, he struck the 
Tennessee River and proceeded down that stream in a canoe. He 
then crossed to the Cumberland and made his way to Henderson. 
Having recruited near eighty men, he started on his return South, via 
Eddyville, on the Cumberland, arriving there on the night of Septem- 
ber 9th. Observing a lot of men standing at a street corner, Steele, 
supposing them to be citizens, halted his command on the bank and 
then rode into the town to inquire concerning some boats he had 
learned were there. Much to his surprise, instead of citizens, he 
found himself in the hands of a squad of Federal soldiers, to whom 
he was compelled to surrender. Two of his men were captured^ 
but the others made good their escape. Steele was relieved of his 
pocket change and papers, but, by strategy, managed to save 
his Watch. A short time after his arms were pinioned behind him 
and he started on horseback, under guard, for Princeton. Arriving 
there about midnight, he and his two men were confined in the 
Court House, where they found a dozen or fifteen of Colonel Adam 
Johnston's men prisoners. A few days after, Steele and thirteen 
men were returned to Eddyville for transportation to Louisville. On 
the thirteenth day of September, they were marched aboard the 
steamer Mattie Cabler, in charge of a sergeant and seven guards. 
Arriving that same evening at Smithland, on the Ohio River, the 
prisoners were transferred from the Cabler to the steamer CoUossus, 
where a Lieutenant was placed in charge of the guard. Captain 
Steele was very kindly treated by the Captain of the boat, who 
claimed to be a Southern man. The Lieutenant was also very 
polite, but all of his kindly overtures were declined, because Steele 
had fully made up his mind to capture the boat and liberate himself 
and men. Steele and the other prisoners were placed on the hurri- 
cane roof of the boat, and, after the Lieutenant had retired, two of the 
prisoners and two of the guards amused themselves by playing cards 
by moonlight. 

At the suggestion of Steele, the prisoners all slept close together, 
spoon fashion, so that opportunity could be given to explain his plan 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 707 

for escape, which he had not, until then, imparted to them. At early 
dawn, the sleepless prisoners being chilled cold from the night dews, 
gathered about the smokestacks;-, nervous with excitement as to the 
result of the forthcoming struggle Steele had notified them that his 
signal for action would be the buttoning up of his coat. Placing 
himself at a point between the Federal watch and the smokestacks, 
he, seeing a suitable opportunity, commenced to button up, when 
several of his men moved to the opposite side of the boat and 
concealed themselves under the eaves of the skylights. Thinking 
the opportunity lost, he began to upbraid them for their cowardice, 
when Elliott and Johnson walked up to him, tapped him on the 
shoulder, and said : " Captain, we will die by you." At the same 
moment, seeing McClure, Dr. Arnett and the Crider brothers also ready 
for action, Steele again commenced hastily to button his coat, and, as 
the last button slipped through its hole, he, in the twinkling of an eye, 
disarmed the guard nearest to him, and Elliot and Johnson, at the same 
time, disarmed the guards nearest to them. Steele and Johnson then 
turned upon the Sergeant of the Guard, who lay asleep upon the 
deck, and, not wishing to kill him, pricked him up with a bayonet, 
demanding his surrender. He arose, drawing a pistol as he did so, 
and fired, saying : " Surrender, hell ! *' The shot passed over their 
heads. He was then thrust through the body with a bayonet, shot 
and instantly killed. As he fell he threw his pistol into the river. 
Steele next turned upon the guard at the bell, who, throwing up his 
hmds, surrendered his gun and pistol. In a moment he was pursu- 
ing another, when the man he had first disarmed, having recovered 
from his surprise, struck him behind the ear with his fist, almost 
knocking him down, at the same time seizing his gun by the muzzle. 
Recovering himself, Steele tried to wrench the muzzle round to the 
other's breast to shoot him, but the man held it firmly under his left 
arm, and, in that position, struck Steele blow after blow with his right 
fist. At this instant a pistol ball from Elliott felled him, but he rose 
and came again, when Steele knocked him down with his gun. Still 
unconquered, he returned to the attack a third time, when he was shot 
through the heart and killed on the spot. By this time two of the 
guards had been killed, two others wounded and taken prisoners, and 
the others disarmed, while Steele and his men had not suffered a 
scratch, except the pounding the Captain himself received. 

A ridiculous incident now occurred that created merriment, 
despite the gravity of the situation. A green Irishman, a raw recruit, 
evidently a recent importation, being summoned to surrender, and| 



708 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

not knowing how to do so, started on a run around the pilot house, 
making the circuit of it twice and receiving several prods from bayo- 
nets, before he could be made to understand what was required of 
him. Pat being captured, the remainder of the guards, who had fled 
to the pilot house, descended and gave themselves up. All were 
ordered aft, and, in their turn, placed under guard. 

The roof was now in Steele's possession, but not a moment too 
soon, for, at this juncture, the Lieutenant was discovered attempting 
to climb upon it from the cabin railing. Captain Steele charged him, 
when he hastily fell back. Turning to the hatchway to descend in 
pursuit of the Lieutenant, Steele met the entire boat crew, fifteen or 
twenty in number, at the head of the stairway, coming up. He 
charged them with his bayonet, when the foremost man fell backward 
upon his companions, who, in their hurry to retreat, rolled pellmell 
over each other to the bottom and fled to the hold of the boat for 
refuge. Captain Steele now instructed the pilot to head the boat for 
Weston, Kentucky, the nearest good landing place, and then, arming 
himself with a pistol and taking with him one of his men, went below 
to secure the Lieutenant and the boat's crew, none of whom had arms. 
Reaching the cabin, he directed the boat's officers to produce the 
Lieutenant, who, however, could not be found. Captain Steele him- 
self then started in search, and discovered the gallant Lieutenant in 
the chambermaid's quarters, hidden away under her bed. 

Steele ordering him out, the Lieutenant presented himself with 
hands uplifted, begging for quarter. Being assured no harm would 
be done him, he was marched to the front. The crew were next or- 
dered to form in line across the forecastle, which they did, hats off and 
trembling with fear, in which position they remained until released. 
The pilot, engineer and fireman, all remained at their posts until the 
boat was landed. Owing to the kindness of the boat's Captain, Steele 
abandoned the idea of burning her, and scuttling her barges which he 
had at first contemplated. Nor did he confiscate the funds in her safe, 
but left the good Captain in full posession of his property. Arriving 
at the landing, all, by invitation of the boat's Captain, took a drink to- 
gether, and shook hands on parting. The Lieutenant accompanied 
Captain Steele to the foot of the stairs,- assured him he had no com- 
plaints to make, that the capture of the boat was a brave and daring 
act, well conceived and brilliantly executed, and the subsequent treat- 
ment of himself and men had been kind and considerate. As Steele 
stepped ashore, the Captain of the boat said *' Good bye, God bless 
you, I wish you all success in the world." In a few days the little band 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 709 

were all mounted, and Captain Steele began again to collect the re- 
cruits who had scattered after his capture. On September 25th, he 
with twenty-five men intercepted a body of sixty colored Federal 
ttoops near the Lisle place on the Madisonville Road, six miles out 
from Henderson, intending to capture them, but the negroes took to 
the woods and effected their escape. In October, he captured the steam- 
boat R B. Speed on Green River, and placed a guard on her with the 
intention of running through the locks at Spottsville, and capturing 
the small gunboat, which was guarding them, while the rest of the 
command proceeded by land. This plan he abandoned, because he 
learned that the Federals had become aware of his presence in the 
neighborhood. Hearing that in Hardin County there were some one 
hundred recruits desiring to make their way south, and wishing to join 
them with his men, for greater safety, Steele, taking two of his com- 
mand, set out to find them, intending to arrange with them a place of 
rendezvous and then return for his own men. In passing through Har- 
densburg with Captain Carroll and twenty men, they were fired upon 
by Home Guards and Carroll killed, and several men wounded. This 
determined Captain Steele to return to Green River for safer quarters. 
A short time after this, Steele, with what men he had with him, joined 
Colonel Chenoworth with his company enroute South. They arrived 
^on the Tennessee River in time to take part with General Forest in 
his attack on Johnsonville, where four gunboats, ten steamboats and 
twenty-seven barges were captured and destroyed. Steele retired to 
Paris, Tenn., and wao here given a battery as a reward for gallantry. 
He was then sent to McLemoresville, and placed in command of the 
post and department ordinance stores. Early in December, he was 
placed in charge of surplus stores, cannon, etc., for transportation to 
Jackson, Tenn. He then joined General H. B. Lyon, and again 
crossed the Tennessee River. The command then marched to Cum- 
berland City, where the steamers Thomas Tutt, Echo and Ben South, 
laden with army supplies for the Federals, were captured. They used 
these boats in crossing the Cumberland, and then burned them. 

December 12th, Hopkinsville was occupied and Steele appointed 
Provost Marshal. On the sixteenth day of December, Chenoworth's 
command was engaged near Hopkinsville, by General McCook, of 
the Federal army, and lost his entire artillery. Steele then rejoined 
Lyon at Charleston, Kentucky. The disastrous defeat of Hood at 
Nashville, placed Lyon in a critical shape, compelling him to retreat 
on Alabama. Passing through Madisonville December 18th, Lyon 
burned the Court House and passed on to Green River, hotly pursued 



710 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

by the Federals. December 10th, 1864, a special order was issued by 
General Lyon to Captain Steele, directing him to recruit and organize 
a company for light artillery service, and to this end he was directed 
to enforce the conscript law, collect all stragglers, and to impress 
horses for artillery purposes. Steele came into Henderson County, 
and, when posting orders in the Town of Corydon, was fired upon by a 
company of colored troops. On the following morning, when the ne- 
groes were crossing into Union County, Steele, accompanied by three 
men dashed on their flank, fired into them with pistols, wounding, sev- 
eral and then disappeared in the timber before the negroes could 
recover from their panic. On February 8th, learning that Captain 
Sam Allen, with a force of Federals, was on the Madisonville Road, 
he marched hurriedly to meet him, but was disappointed. He then 
crossed from the Madisonville to the Corydon Road, striking at the 
Alves ford below the fair grounds. Here they built a fence across the 
road, in a hollow opposite the ford, making a strong pen, leaving the 
side towards Henderson open. Dismounting his men, Steele pi ced 
them in fence corners with orders not to fire until the word of com- 
mand was given, or the Federals had passed into the trap prepared 
for them. Lieutenant Spalding, with ten mounted men, was posted 
in ambush some distance to the front and immediately opposite a gap 
in the fence which had been left down for him to pass through and 
take the expected enemy in the rear. Two men were then ordered 
to ride into the city, fire on any Federal who came in sight, and then 
retreat, with a view of inducing the Federals to pursue them into the 
trap. In this they were successful, being hotly pursued by Captain 
Sam. Allen and twelve men, who would all have been captured but 
for George Gibson, one of the Cenfederates, who, in the excitement 
of the moment, forgot the order not to fire until the word was given, 
and blazed away as soon as the Federals came opposite to him. This 
shot brought Allen to a halt as he had lost sight of the two men he 
was pursuing, they having passed through the gap and joined Spald- 
ing. A few more of the company now opened fire contrary to orders, 
on which Allen wheeled, and, under whip and spur, beat a rapid re- 
treat, closely pursued by Spalding and his guard. Allen and part of 
his men passed the gap before Spalding could reach it, but was pur. 
sued into the precincts of the town. Six prisoners and a lot of arms 
were the fruit of this little victory. The prisoners were taken to 
Union County, and released on parole. On February 10th, Captain 
Wright occupied Morganfield with about one hundred colored Federal 
troops, and on the following day, leaving Lieutenant Wirt, with forty 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 711 

men to hold the town, started with sixty on a raid into the county. 
Steele, Spalding and about thirty men started in pursuit of Wright, 
who was followed for several hours. Steele then changed his plan, 
and taking Spalding and fourteen men marched on Morganfield with 
the intention of cutting Wright off and capturing the town. The re- 
mainder were ordered to continue in pursuit. Arriving at the sub- 
urbs of the town, Steele posted his men so as to watch both roads 
leading south. In this position he waited until near night, when, 
hearing nothing of Wright, he determined to try and capture the town, 
and Wirt's force by a ruse. He ordered his men to march about con- 
tinually so as to attract the attention of the Federals and lead them to 
believe they were threatened by a large force Then Spalding was 
sent under a flag of truce, with a communication from Captain Steele 
to Wirt, announcing that Wright's detachment had been made prison- 
ers and demanding his surrender. To this Wirt agreed, and Steele 
was about to send Spalding back into town, with ten men, to receive 
his capitulation, when at this moment, a courier rode up and an- 
nounced that Wright was approaching. Dispatching ten men to hold 
Wright in check, Steele and Spalding accompanied by two men, rode 
into town to receive the prisoners who were marched into the street, 
where they stacked arms. At this juncture the rattle of musketry was 
heard over behind the hill, and Wirt realizing that he nad been duped, 
ordered his men to resume their arms. As they rushed for them, 
Steele and his companions beat a hurried retreat, followed by a shower 
of bullets. In five minutes more, Wirt's command would have been 
prisoners, and on his return, Wright would have found the town in 
the hands of Steele and his men, waiting to give him a warm recep- 
tion. 

The following night Wright evaded Spalding, who was watching 
the road, and retreated to Uniontown. Steele's command wa> en- 
gaged in several skirmishes after this. At one time he entered Hen- 
derson at one o'clock at night, intending to assault and capture the 
colored troops who occupied some breastworks on the river front 
above the wharf landing. Becoming aware of his movement, they fled 
aboard a gunboat or to some other point of safety. The Confederates 
had now evacuated Richmond, and Sherman had cut the Confederacy 
in two by his march to the sea, while Confederate troops were surren- 
dering at all points. Nothing, therefore, was left Steele, but to disband 
his command and seek concealment, or to surrender. He chose the 
latter course, laying down his arms at his old home, where he had four 
years before first taken them up, after having passed through many 



712 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

dangers and participated in many battles, without having during these 
years ot service received a scratch, except the pounding administered 
to him by the fist of the Federal soldier, whom he had disarmed in 
capturing the steamboat Colossus In January, 1866, Captain Steele 
removed to Morehouse Parish, in the northern part of the State of 
Louisiana, entering into mercantile life with Major T. R. Hotchkiss. 
He went, in 1869, to New Orleans, taking a situation in the wholesale 
dry goods establishment of John Sauche, where he had charge of the 
office. Returning to North Louisiana in December of the same year, 
he took up his residence in Ouachita City, Union Parish, his present 
home. Captain Steele married in May, 1871, Miss Juliet M. Parks, 
dausrhter of Mr. William Parks, the fruit of which union has been two 
sons and two daughters. Since that period he has engaged in exten- 
sive farming and mercantile enterprise in the parishes of Union^ 
Morehouse and Ouachita, where he at present owns several large and 
valuable cotton plantations. In 1876, he first entered politics, being 
chosen as a delegate from Union Parish to the Democratic State nom- 
inating convention, held at Baton Rouge. Steele took an active part 
in the memorable election campaign of that year, contributing not a 
little to the overthrow and destruction of Republican rule in Louis- 
iana. At this election he was chosen to represent his parish in the 
General Assembly of the State, and, subsequently, 1878, was re- 
elected. The latter, immediately upon assembling, passed an act or. 
dering an election for delegates to a convention to frame a new State 
constitution. 

In 1879, at an election for the ratification of this constitution, Steele 
was chosen to represent the Twenty-Second Senatorial District in the 
State Senate. Governor Wiltz dying in 1 881, Lieutenant Governor Mc- 
Enery succeeded him, leaving the president/;'^ tem. of the Senate to pre- 
side over that body, and placing him next in succession to the Governor- 
ship. The party now divided into two wings, one faction under the lead- 
ership of Senator Walton made war on Senator Robertson, the then Pres- 
ident//'^ iem,^ and ousted him from the place. Walton was chosen by his 
friends to succeed Robertson, when a bitter fight ensued, which came 
near disrupting the party. At this juncture moderate men of both wings 
seeing the danger, proposed to avert it by requesting both Robertson 
and Walton to withdraw their claims, and unite in electing a President 
pro tem. acceptable to all. Had this arrangement been consummated, 
the choice would have fallen on Senator Steele, but, through some 
hitch, the plan was abandoned. From his first entry into political life 
Captain Steele has ranked among the ablest members of the Genera^ 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 713 

Assembly. Quite courteous and unobtrusive in manner, he posesses 
a clear intellect, and his opinions are listened to by his colleagues 
with marked attention and respect. A consistent Democrat, his views 
on public affairs are. broad and^ liberal. Already thoughtful conser- 
vative men through the State are beginning to turn their eyes upon 
him as a suitable man to place at the head of Louisiana affairs. Young, 
vigorous, a thorough man of business, he is fully acquainted with the 
people's need, and it is highly probable he may soon be elevated to the 
highest place in their gift. 

Note. — Since the foregoing was written, Captain Steele has been 
elected Auditor of Louisiana, and yet holds that most important and 
responsible office. — Ed. 

GENERAL ADAM RANKIN JOHNSON.— The distinguished 
man whose name heads this article was born in the Towm of Hender- 
son, on February 8th, 1834. He is the son of Dr. Thomas Jefferson 
Johnson and Juliet Spencer Rankin, daughter of Dr. Adam Rankin, 
who settled in Henderson County during the early part of the year 
1800. Dr. Johnson came from Frankfort, and settled in Henderson 
in 1823, and four years thereafter, to-wit : on the fifteenth day of 
February, 1827, was married to Miss Rankin, Rev. Thomas Evans 
officiating. Dr. Johnson was a man of strong mind and positive char- 
acter, and, during his early life, enjoyed a prominence few young 
physicians ot his day ever attained. Mrs. Johnson was one of the 
noblest women, and was universally beloved by every one who knew 
her. Dr. and Mrs. Johnson lived to a ripe old age, and raised a large 
and prosperous family. While the schools of the town at that time 
were not the best the country afforded, they were yet sufficient to im- 
part a good education in the primary and intermediate branches. 
General Johnson was kept at one of these schools until he arrived at 
the age of twehe years, when he was placed with Ira Delano, an exper- 
ienced druggist, to leain the art of compounding and otherwise to qual- 
ify himself for a life of usefulness. There he remained until sixteen 
years of age, at which time he entered the tobacco stemmery of Bur- 
bank & Barret. In this business he remained until he was twenty 
years of age, when he bade adieu to Kentucky, and went to the Lone 
Star State, settling in Burnett County, known at that time as Hamilton 
Vallev. This at that time was an extreme frontier settlement. Very 
soon after his arrival he associated himself with a surveying party, 
and was so well pleased he then and there adopted surveying as a pro- 
fession peculiar to himself. In those days and in that country, In- 
dians were to be found in large numbers, and in numerous rencoun- 



714 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ters with them in the years 1855 to 1861, he was compelled to exer- 
cise unceasing care, precaution and strategy to preserve not only the 
safety of his companions, but his own life. The keenest vigilance, 
which he found absolutely necessary, soon became a second nature 
with him, and it was in this school that he learned the lesson which in 
the days of the great war between the States, proved so valuable to 
him while acting in the capacity of a scout or partisan. His entire 
frontier life up to and including a part of the war, was filled with wild 
adventure that no one but a man of unquestioned nerve and intelli- 
gence could have so successfully contended with. The war coming 
on, General Johnson was not long in deciding with whom he should 
fight. He visited Kentucky, and, for a time, his old home in Hen- 
derson, where he was gladly welcomed, although the entire family 
were strong for the Union of the States. During his brief stay in 
Henderson, the town was occupied by Federal soldiers, and yet it 
was not known that he was a Confederate scout. Becoming a little 
uneasy of his position, Johnson determined to return South, and, to 
this end, started on foot, hoping to cross Canoe Creek below the fair 
grounds and make his way to Mrs. Jordan's, on the Madisonville road, 
where he had a horse. Reaching the creek, it was found to be at 
flood height from back water from the Ohio River and impassible. 
Thinking he had passed the Federal pickets, he pushed on down the 
stream in search of a drift pile or fallen tree, and, as he reached the 
summit of a hill, to his amazement, only a few yards away from him, 
there stood the advanced outposts, who saw him about as soon as he 
saw them. He was heavily armed, and this was evidence against him. 
He determined, as quick as thought, to retrace his steps, and did so, 
but was pursued by one of the soldiers on foot. He hurried on to the 
roots of a great tree that had fallen down, thinking there he could 
secrete himself, or perhaps the pursuit would be given up. Hardly had 
he gotten behind this ambush, when he observed the soldier, with has- 
tened tread, following on. There was but one question then, life or 
death, and, as the soldier approached the tree, Johnson fired, and the 
soldier fell dead in his tracks and rolled over the bank into the creek. 
Johnson then returned to the town and remained but a day or two, 
when he made another and successful effort to reach the Confederate 
lines. Two days afterwards he reached Hopkinsville. 

Subsequent to the battles of Fort Donelson and Corinth, Johnson 
returned to Kentucky, and his first military venture in Henderson Coun- 
ty was the capture of U. S. Surgeon Kimbly, of Owensboro, near Heb- 
ardsville. His next adventure was in company with Colonel Robert 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 715 

A. Martin and Amphius Owen in an attack at night upon a company 
of Federal provost guards stationed in tlie two-story brick opposite 
John H. Barret & Co.'s tobacco stemniery, on Main Street, then known 
as the National Hotel. The attack was made about ten o'clock 
on Sunday night in the latter part of June, 1862. Johnson, Martin and 
Owen went, unnoticed, to the lot adjoining Barret's factory and se- 
creted themselves among the stave piles. They were also protected by 
a high plank fence between them and the street. 

Captain Daly and a number of his soldiers were sitting on the 
pavement in front of headquarters, laughing and talking, when, at a 
signal, Johnson, Martin and Owen fired the first volley from their shot 
guns, and then, in quick succession, the second. The scene quickly 
changed from one of laughing to one of groans of dying and wounded 
men, and the flight of those who had escaped unhurt. The doors of 
the house were immediately barred, and, as soon as could be, the 
three Confederates appeared in the cemetery, immediately in the rear 
of headquarters, and fired another volley. This done, they retreated 
to their horses and departed from the town. Lieutenant Taylor was 
killed, and ten or more men, including Captain Daley, were more or 
less seriously wounded. 

Excitement in the town became intense. A citizens' meeting was 
held in Barret's factory, at which resolutions, strongly condemn ttory 
of the course of Johnson, &c., were passed. A short time after this, and 
when Colonel Johnson had formed a nucleus of a regiment, he took 
possession of Henderson, and, by his words and orders, very greatly 
relieved the anxiety of the people, especially those politically opposed 
to him. It was at this time he planned his Newburg campaign 

Colonel Johnson and Martin, with perhaps twenty-three men, 
left Henderson late in the evening and camped for the night upon 
the farm of Wm. Soaper, near the city. Early next morning they were 
en route for Newburg and were not long in arriving in front of that 
loyal town. The Evans ville Journal having declared that the people 
of Indiana would not allow that territory to be invaded for a moment, 
Johnson and Martin determined to test their courage. To this end, 
therefore, they set about disposing of their horses and an old wagon, 
that was near by, in such a way as to represent a large cavalry and 
artillery force. All ready, Martin, with some twenty men, crossed 
over about a half mile above the town. Johnson, with two men in a 
skiff, crossed immediately opposite the town. At this place Johnson 
performed perhaps the most reckless, and yet the most successful, 
military master stroke achieved by any commander of high or low 
authority, in either army during the war. 



716 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Johnson's information was that in Union Bethell's storehouse, on 
the river front, was stored all of the arms and ammunition supplied 
by the State and Government; therefore, he landed his skiff as near 
as possible to that building and made directly for it, unnoticed, as the 
crossing of Martin and his men had attracted general attention. John- 
son found the arsenal unguarded, open, and a large number of guns 
stacked in it. He ordered the two men with him to barricade the 
doors and windows, and hold the building until Martin's arrival. In 
the meantime, Johnson walked up to the hotel, where he saw a num- 
ber of Federals retreating into the hotel. Believing they were unarmed 
he entered the door alone and stood, electrified, in the presence of 
eighty men with cocked guns presented. As quick as thought, he 
knew that retreat was certain death ; that the least hesitation would 
prove fatal ; that immediate daring was absolutely necessary ; then, 
without the quiver of a lip, or neivous twitch of a muscle, or change 
of facial features, he boldly advanced to the front line, demanding an 
immediate surrender, at the same time throwing up the muzzles of 
several guns with the one he held in his hands. He announced, in 
unmistakable and most positive language, that if a single cap was 
fired, the last man to whom he was addressing himself, would be mas 
sacred, and that on short notice, and, as unpalatable as the sequel 
may be, it is yet true that the whole command obeyed his order, 
stacked their guns and retired to a large dining room in the building. 

At this juncture a great burley Orderly Sergeant dashed in and 
called out, " What are you doing ; where in the hell are your guns .^ " 
To this Johnson replied, by leveling his double-barreled gun upon the 
Sergeant, and telling him, " Move another step, and I will riddle you 
with bullets." The Sergeant surrendered with the others. Soon after 
Martin came up with a portion of his men, the others having been de- 
tailed to guard the streets. Johnson, fearing an attack, set imme- 
diately to work paroling his prisoners, and securing wagons and teams 
to remove the captured property, guns, ammunition, etc. When the 
last ferry load had been safely crossed to the Kentucky side, Johnson 
leisurely walked to his skiff, seated himself and directed his two oars- 
men to pull for life. He had gotten not more than half way across 
when the yells of the Home Guard Company were heard entering the 
town. They failed to fire at him however, from the fact leading citizens 
had been notified by Johnson, that if a gun was fired, he would shell 
the town. Johnson's battery consisted of an old two-horse wagon, with 
a black log extending from the end of it, and it was this that terrified 
the Newburghers. General Johnson, subsequent to this time, was in 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 717 

many severe contests and close places, notably at Green River bridge, 
on that ever memorable fourth day of July, where he was repulsed by 
Colonel Moore, and then with l^organ on his Ohio raid. He was one 
among the few who' escaped capture. Upon his return to his Ken- 
tucky department, he heard for the first time of the killing of his 
uncle, James E. Rankin, and immediately set to work to effect the 
arrest of his murderers. A few days afterward two men were brought 
to him charged with the crime, and were immediately sent to Hender- 
son and turned over to the civil authorities. General Johnson was 
rapidly organizing four regiments, and it was found necessary to drive 
him out of the State before he had succeeded in doing so. Therefore, 
General Burbridge sent General Hobson with a large detachment of 
cavalry in pursuit of him. General Johnson determined to cross the 
Cumberland River, and, if possible, draw Hobson in pursuit. Before, 
or just about the time he reached Cumberland River, he engaged a 
force of Federals at what was called Grubb's Cross-roads. He sur- 
rounded the camp and had captured twenty-five or more Federals. 
White flags were seen flying, and upon this General Johnson rode 
back and ordered the firing ceased. Another part of the Confederate 
command came up about this time, and without knowing the situation, 
or their own friends, commenced firing indiscriminately, and, during 
the shooting. General Johnson, their commander, was shot, instantly 
destroying both of his eyes. He was thereupon taken to the home of 
Mr. Garland Simms, where every attention was given him by 
Mr. and Mrs. Simms, and their son, Richard. Wm. S. Johnson, his 
brother, hearing of his sad condition, went to his bedside and remained 
with him until he was able to be removed to Henderson, his native 
home. He remained here at his father's house but a short time, when 
he was sent a prisoner to Fort Warren. He remained in prison sev- 
eral months, and was then sent on for exchange and arrived in Rich- 
mond on the twenty-sixth day of May, 1865. After the surrender, he 
was very active in having his men, who were under indictment, and 
other prosecutions against them in the Courts of Kentucky, released 
from custody. His entire willingness to assume all responsibility for 
the impressment of horses and such like caused the dismissal of all re- 
maining prosecutions. General Johnson returned to his home in 
Texas, to find his personal property wasted, and himself terribly in 
debt. Though sightless, he embarked in the real estate business, and 
his success remains to this time unparalleled. He is at this time the 
father of a large family, and the possessor of a handsome competency. 
Although deprived of his sight, he is justly regarded one of the leading 
business men of his country and his success in life has proven it. 



718 HISTORY OF HENDRRSON COUNTY, KY. 

DOCTOR PINCKNEY THOMPSON.— \mong the most dis- 
tinguished of native Kentuckians, and most useful in their day and 
generation in the field of science and philanthropy, is the subject o^ 
this sketch, Dr. Pinckney Thompson. He was born in Livingston 
County, on the fifteenth day of April, 1828, in an humble sphere of 
life, having no advantages except such as may accompany poverty and 
utter obscurity. His parents were both natives of North Carolina, 
and his mother's maiden name was Thompson. Her family settled in 
Livingston County in the year 1796. His paternal grandfather immi- 
grated to Kentucky and settled in the same county, before Kentucky 
was admitted as one of the States of the Union. His father was 
apprenticed to a farmer, and on reaching his majority, volunteered in 
Captain Barbour's company, which assembled at Henderson, and 
marched overland through the cane-breaks to join General Samuel 
Hopkins' army, then stationed at Vincennes, Indiana The command 
arrived too late for the battle of Tippecanoe, and after a few days 
rest, returned to Kentucky. He made several trading trips to New- 
Orleans, and while there was pressed into the army service by order 
of General Jackson, and after a short service returned home, and set- 
tled down to hard work on a farm. In 1823, he married, and in Sep- 
tember, 1871, died at the residence of his son. Dr. Thompson, in this 
city. His wife, with whom his life had been so happily spent, survived 
him about four months, she departing this life in January, 1872. Dr. 
Thompson worked on his father's farm until his twentieth year, and 
during that time obtained from the ordinary county schools such 
an English education as they afforded. There was developed in him 
during his boyhood days a taste for the practice of medicine. He was 
a most excellent nurse, was apt in catching directions for administer- 
ing medicines, and was expert at detecting the various fevers. His 
neighbors, and those who knew him best, frequently reminded him 
that he ought to make a doctor of himself These frequent reminders 
had as much to do perhaps with moulding his life as his natural inclin- 
ations, and his mind being made up, in January 1849, he removed to 
Smithland^ the county seat of Livingston, where he entered upon 
the study of medicine under Dr. D. B. Saunders, a very distinguished 
physician of that day. He continued in Dr. Saunders' office until 
May, 1851, at the end of which time he had grown restless from the 
want of advantages Dr. Saunders was unable to supply, and induced 
his father to permit him to go to Lousiville, Ky. He went to Louisville 
and placed himself under the preceptorship of Dr. T. G. Richardson, 
who was, at that time, Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Medical De- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 719 

partment of the University of Louisville ; afterwards, and is now 
Professor of Surgery in the Medical Department of Louisiana Uni- 
versity, in the City of Ne^w Orleans, having succeeded Dr. 
Warren Stone, one of the most distinguished physicians and surgeons 
of the time. He continued to study under Dr. Richardson, at the 
same time serving in the City Hospital up to March 1st, 1853. On 
March 4th, of the same year, he graduated. He then returned to his 
old home, where he remained but a short time, and then came to Hen* 
derson, where he located on the fifteenth day of April and commenced 
the practice of his profession, without money and without an acquaint- 
ance beyond that of three persons. The following physicians were 
established in practice upon his arrival : R. A. Armistead, R. P. 
Letcher, A. J. Morrison, L. F. Jones, W. A. Offutt, W. A. Norwood, 
John Young, William Brewster and Richard Garland. 

Dr. Thompson was not long in obtaining a large and lucrative 
practice, and has ever been held as one of the most successful prac- 
titioners in the profession. He has operated in tracheotomy three 
times, twice successfully; has operated in lithotomy three times suc- 
cessfully ; performed two successful operations for cancer in the 
breast, besides a large number of minor, yet difficult operations. 

November 26th, 1857, he was wedded to Nannie S., eldest 
daughter of William S. and Mary Holloway. They have two children, 
both sons and young men of promise. He was one of the first and 
most active Trustees of the Henderson Public School. He was the 
author of the law creating a colored School, and has continued 
the President of the Board from the day of its organization to this 
time. He has served as President of the Henderson Medical Club ; 
President of the McDowell Society, and President of the Kentucky 
State Board of Health from its organization. A number of years ago, 
in 1869, he conceived the idea of building a Mission Sunday School, 
peculiarly for the benefit of those children who, for various reasons, 
were unable to attend the schools of the city. He carried this plan 
into successful operation by building, mostly at his own expense, a 
house of sufficient capacity in the vicinity of his residence, and, tor a 
number of years, supported this school mostly at his own expense. He 
has always served as its Superintendent. The doctor has a large 
school, and there is nothing in which he prides himself more than his 
family of Sunday school children. He has served as Elder in the 
Presbyterian Church since 1862. He is a Master and Royal Arch 
Mason. As President of the State Board of Health, he visited Hick 
man, Kentucky, during the yellow fever epidemic, and, upon his 



720 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

return, made an able report to the board ; was present at the meeting 
of the " Sanitary Council " of the Mississippi Valley, at Memphis, 
April, 1879, whce he was elected Vice President. In 1880, he was 
re-elected, but, finding it impossible to attend meetings regularly. Dr. 
Wirt Johnson, of Mississippi, was elected in his stead. He has always 
taken great interest in sanitary matters ; has attended four meetings 
of the National Health Board, and was two years a member of the 
Advisory Committee of the American Public Health Association. He 
did more, perhaps^ than any other one man, to secure from the Legis- 
lature an act incorporating, and establishing upon a sound and 
sensible basis, the present State Board of Health. At one time, when 
the State appropriation was inadequate for the purposes of the Board, 
he visited Washington and was successful in securing from the 
National Board sufficient help to guarantee a successful fight against 
dangerous epidemics. \v\ 1860 he built the handsome residence on 
Main Street, now owned by G. G. Ellis, and, in 1867, built his present 
residence. He has been identified largely with every movement 
looking to the impro\emcnt of Henderson, taking an active part in its 
educational, social and other leading interests, and has been for over 
a quarter of a century, not only a most active and successful prac- 
titioner in his profession, but also one of the most earnest and valuable 
members of society. He has served for a number of years as Presi- 
dent of the Henderson County Bible Society and has annually received 
a re-election without opposition. 

REV. D. OWEN UAVIES, D. D., Pastor of the Presbyterian 
Church. Mr. Davies began his ministry in the City of Baltimore, 
taking charge, while yet a student in the Princeton Theological Sem- 
inary, of the " Old Duncan Church," as it was called, during the pro- 
tracted illness of its pastor. It was this church that called Dr. Stuart 
Robinson, from Kentucky, to his brilliant Baltimore pastorate. Mr. Da 
vies next ministered to the Central Church of St.Louis(now Dr.Branks'), 
while the pastor. Rev. S. J. P. Anderson, D. D., made an extended 
European tour. After a winter in the South and a summer in the 
North, seeking restoration of health, which had become critical, Mr. 
Davies was induced to take charge of a church in Cincinnati. 

In the spring of 1863, he was settled over the church at Paris, 
Bourbon County, and, while there, was married to a daughter of Governor 
Richard Hawes, and there his first child was born. From Paris Mr. 
Davies went to Clarksville, Tenn., in 1868, where he did a good 
work in restoring to prosperity one of the best churches in that State, 
and in saving to the church and county Stewart College, now the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 721 

Southwestern University, already doing so well and promising so 
much for the higher education of Southern youth. Thence Mr. Davies 
came to Henderson, taking charge of the church in this city June, 
1871. Since that time he has continued to minister to his Henderson 
flock with an ability and anxiety of purpose that causes him to be 
more beloved by his people as each year rolls by. 

The work of this eminent and hard working divine is here to 
show for itself. The additions to his church each year have been 
very large, and, as a result, the old church now has a second church 
of large seating capacity, one of the handsomest buildings in the 
State, and a large and growing congregation. Verily, Mr. Davies has 
performed a great and good work. The fruits of his unceasing labors 
will follow after him. 

JOSEPH ANTHONY HODGE, M. D., was born in Salem, 
Livingston County, Kentucky, February 2d, 1829. His father, Edwin 
Hodge, a farmer, born in the same locality in the year 1805, was a 
son of Robert Hodge, who, some years previous, had emigrated from 
North Carolina to that county. The grandfather of Robert Hodge, 
with two brothers, Henry and Anthony, came from England to this 
country in colonial times, one of them settling in Virginia, one in 
Maryland, and the other in North Carolina. The family name was 
originally Hodges, and one of these brothers, Anthony, for whom 
the subject of this sketch was named, always bore the name of 
Hodges, as do his descendants to this day. 

The maiden name of the mother of Joseph A. Hodge was Nancy 
Selissa Hughes, a daughter of Joseph Hughes. It maybe remarked, 
that the County of Livingston was divided in the year 1842 into two 
counties, Livingston and Crittenden. The Hughes family lived in 
the latter section of the old county, and it was in the latter also that 
the subject of this sketch was reared. After the death of his father, 
when he was but eight years old, his mother married Doctor John S. 
Gilliam, a Virginian by birth, but at that time a resident of the same 
neighborhood with herself. In many respects he was quite a remark- 
able man, and proved to be a most kind and indulgent step father. It 
was th'-ough his instrumentality that his step-son began the study of 
medici le in his eighteenth year, graduating from the medical depart- 
ment of the Louisville University in 1850, when he was just twenty-one 
years old. From the time of graduation until the spring of 1863, he 
was engaged in practice in Marion, Crittenden County, Ky., removing 
from there to Henderson in April of that year. He arrived in the 
latter place on the twenty-eight of the month. 

46 



72-J HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

On December the fourth, 1851, he married Miss Susan A., 
daughter of Doctor Rufus Linthicum, of the County of Muhlenberg, 
Kv., having made her acquaintance four years previous, when she was 
a school girl at St. Vincent Academy, in Union County, Ky. This 
transaction has never caused a moment's regret, and has ever been 
resrarded as the chief event of his life. 

Dr. Hodge is a member of the Henderson Medical Club, Mc- 
Dowell Medical Society, Kentucky State Medical Society and the 
American Medical Association. He is also a member of the Board 
of Medical Examiners of the Third Judicial District of Kentucky, and 
has been such from its establishment, over eight years ago. He was 
President of the Kentucky State Society from 1875 to 1876, and has 
acted in the same capacity for the Medical Club. He is a man of 
very strong character and eminently fitted for the arduous duties of 
his chosen profession. 

Dr. and Mrs. Hodge, in their marital union, have been blessed 
by a family of seven children, two bovs and five daughters, all of 
whom are yet living, and of whom it can be said, seven more promis- 
ing children were never born. Of the five daughters it has frequently 
been asserted, by competent judges, that they possess a charm of 
personal beauty and brightness of life unsurpassed by any similar 
number reared in Kentucky. 

WILLIAM EVANS BENNEIT.— The subject of this brief 
sketch was born on the twenty-seventh day of January, 1814, on the 
place he spent his life. He was a son of Evans Bennett and Eliza- 
beth Morris, natives of Virginia and North Carolina. Mr. Bennett 
was educated at the country schools of his neighborhood. The school 
house where he was taught was a rude log hut with one door and a 
large dirt chimney. I have often heard him say that when his teacher, 
for any cause, proposed to apply the rod to him, his first object was 
to get between him and the chimney, and then make his escape by 
that outlet, which was almost as easy as going out of the door. Mr. 
Bennett was all his life a farmer, and, by close application and hard 
work, possessed himself of a competency sufficient to raise a 
large family of children and keep him and those who lived with him 
in his old age in comfortable circumstances. For very many years he 
served his county as magistrate and was one of the most highly 
respected upon the bench. He was a plain, unassuming, Christiaii 
gentieman, full of life and humor, honest and temperate in all things. 
He bore no man malice ; was a kind, congenial neighbor, and as 
greatly respected as any man who has lived in the county. Mr. 
Bennett died several years since, leaving a large family of children. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 723 

LUTHER FERDINAND WISE.— The subject of this sketch 
was born in Ohio County, and is a son of William Bradford Wise, 
who was born in 1805, and I^ene Blevins, born 1810. Both his 
paternal and maternal ancestors were native Virginians. 

In 1861, at the beginning of the War of the Rebellion, the father 
of our subject enlisted in the Union army at Calhoun, Ky., under 
Captain J. R. Wise, Company I, Colonel Hawkins' Eleventh Ken- 
tucky Infantry. He participated in all of the battles and skirmishes 
in which his regiment was engaged, notably Shiloh and Stone River, 
and was mustered out of the service, near the close of the war, at 
Louisville. He was a farmer before and after the war, and owned 
what was known as the handsomest place between Hartford and 
Paradise, Ohio County. The father died in 1875, leaving nine children, 
three boys and six girls, all of whom are living at this time. 

Luther Ferdinand Wise was born on the ninth day of September, 
1848, and, when arriving at school age, was sent to a private school 
at Hartford, where he, by industry and close application, gained for 
himself a good country education. He commenced business as a 
clerk in a store at Rochester, Ky., and, in 1869, removed to Hender- 
son and accepted a clerkship with W. H. Lewis, then engaged in the 
boot and shoe business. On the twenty-sixth day of July, 1876, he 
married Mrs. Sarah A. Griffin {nee Hatchitt), daughter of James 
Hatchitt, for many years a leading and influential citizen of this 
county. As a result of that marriage, one child has been born unto 
them, Hatchitt L., born May 15th, 1877. 

Mr. Wise remained with W. H. Lewis for eight years and then 
accepted a deputyship under William Hatchitt, Sheriff of Henderson 
County, an office he filled with signal ability up to the spring of 1882. 
On the twelth day of March of that year, he embarked in the grocery 
business, opening in the two-story brick, southwest corner of First 
and Elm Streets. Upon the completion of the new Opera House, a 
few years since, he removed his stock into one of the handsome stores 
of that building, where he is now doing a handsome and paying trade 

In politics Mr. Wise is an unswerving Democrat ; in religion a 
firm and consistent Baptist. He is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias. Altogether he is a modest, unassuming gentleman, attending 
as he has ever done, strictly to bis business, and, by this mode of life, 
has accumulated a nice little estate. He has lately purchased the 
storehouse he originaally occupied, and, in due course of time, will 
re-occupy it. 



724 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ANDREW TATE CALLENDER was born in Henderson 
County, on the eighteenth day of January, 1842. His schooling was 
limited to a period not exceeding six months, and this fact makes his 
success as a business man all the more wonderful. Mr. Callender is 
well known as a man of commercial capacity few have ever attained 
to with the start he had in life. He is a son of Thomas Jefferson 
Callender and Martha Chiles Harris, both native Kentuckians, and 
both early comers to this county. It is not necessary to say that our 
subject is a Democrat, the Thomas Jefferson attaching to the paternal 
head will guarantee that fact. 

The parents of the subject of this sketch, on coming to this 
county, settled on a farm near Spottsville, on Green River. During 
the building of the locks and dam at that place, T. J. Callender was 
one of the most faithful employees. Andrew Tate Callender was 
born in Henderson County on the eighteenth day of January, 1842, as 
before stated, and knew nothing but hard work during his boyhood. 
Judge Warden P. Churchill, now of Louisville, but who, at one time, 
resided in Henderson, instructed him in about all the studies he was 
ever fortunate enough to receive an opportunity of knowing anything 
about. 

On the nineteenth day of February, 1868, after having earned for 
himself a wifely competency, he married Miss Mary K. Eargood, and,as 
a result of that marriage, there have been born unto him and his faithful 
life partner, three children, now living, Lila, Andrew T. and Millard 
Norman. Lila, the elde'st, married, September, 1885, Charles 
McAhan, and they have one son, recently born. 

Our subject has been a hard working farmer the greater part of 
his life, three years of which time was spent with his father in 
Webster County, the remainder, up to 1870, in Henderson County. 
During the year 1870, he came to the city and purchased what was 
then known as Stapp & Sheffer's steam mill grocery on the corner of 
Fourth and Green Streets. In 1872, he purchased the grocery stock 
of K. Geibel, Jr., diagonally across from his then place of business, 
and consolidated the two stores. He yet carries on the grocery 
business at the same stand, southeast corner of Fifth and Elm Streets, 
and is doing a lucrative trade. 

To use a rather uncommon phrase, Mr. Callender has exhibited 
more *' spread out " than most men, and, as an evidence of it, he pur- 
chased of George Able, in 1882, a frame store building in the Third 
Ward, corner of Adams and Clay Street ; seeing far enough ahead to 
know that that stand, if not then, would ultimately become a good 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 725 

one. A short time after this purchase, this house burned, and he im- 
mediately erected for that locaHty, a commodious brick, and installed 
his brother as manager of a large and varied stock of groceries and 
necessary householdgoods. In this, as in all other enterprises willed 
by him, he has been successful, and to-day, beholds himself the pos- 
sessor of a competency amply sufficient for any purpose he may wish. 
Mr. Callender has never attached himself to any religious denomina- 
tion, yet he inherits the Baptist fai^h from the paternal, and Metho- 
dist from the maternal parental heads. He has never joined a 
Lodge of any kind. He is a member of the Public and High School 
Boards. 

WYNN GLASS DIXON is a young farmer, living upon, and op- 
erating one hundred and fifty acres of fine farming land, which he 
owns, and upon which he successfully grows tobacco, wheat, corn and 
hay. He is a gentleman rather more professional looking in appear- 
ance than is usually the case with planters and cultivators of the soil. 
He comes from a family, both sides representing a worthy profess- 
ional lineage — in several instances, in fact, unsurpassed for legal learn- 
ing and governmental polity. He is a son of Charles Cornelius Dixon, 
who was a highly influential and worthy citizen of this county, and Isa- 
bella Pauline Clay, a second cousin of Henry Clay. Mr. Dixon was 
born in Henderson County, on the 24th day of March, 1855, and re- 
ceived his primary education from the county schools. Sub'^equent 
to that time, he matriculated at one of the best educational institu- 
tions at Mt. Vernon Indiana. At this place he graduated, and since 
that time, has been engaged in farming. On the seventeenth day of 
December, 1878, he was married to iMiss Mattie Randolph of this 
county, and two children. Ruby Dixon, and Roger Sherman, now bless 
that happy union. In politics, our subject is a Democrat ; in relig- 
ious opinion and training, a Cumberland Presbyterian. He has ne\er 
joined a Lodge of any kind, but stays quietly at his home, surrounded 
by a loving household, where the moonlight of connubial felicity 
shines upon him, without going elsewhere to seek pleasures in the so- 
ciety of men. The father of our subject died in the year 1881, aged 
sixty-two years. 

WILLIAM SAMUEL GRADY. The gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch, a farmer by occupation and a good one, too, is the son 
of Brock man B. Grady and Jane Powers, natives of Shelby County, Ken- 
tucky. William Samuel, was born near Shelbyville, Shelby County, on 
the third day of September, 1841, and on the twenty-first day of January, 
1869, immigrated to Henderson County. His life's occupation, aside 



726 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

from the time he gave his chosen country, fighting for the Confederacy, 
has been that of a farmer. Two years after coming to Henderson County, 
to-wit : on the twenty-seventh day of December, 1871, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary Butler, a highly connected young lady,and one 
whom the writer of this is pleased to remember as one eminently qualified 
to assume the duties of mother and housekeeper. Two children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Grady : Henry and Furman Harvey ; the 
latter now dead, having been the victim of an accident at Colonel 
Jackson McClain's home farm several years ago. Our subject was 
a gallant soldier of General John H. Morgan's command, and with his 
General, was captured in the Morgan raid through Ohio. He was 
confined in Camp Chase, near Columbus, and, subsequently, with 
one or two comrades, effected his escape and footed it to Cincinnati, 
where he boarded a steamer and landed at Louisville without being 
molested or even suspicioned. As he was a good soldier, ever doing 
his duty, he is a charitable, open hearted, good citizen, loving his 
friends, and doing unto his neighbor as he would have done unto 
himself. 

WILLIAM EDWARD LABREY was born at New Albany, 
Indiana, June 9th, 1844, and was educated from the city schools of 
that place. He is a son of Edward Labrey and Theresa Palmer. His 
paternal grandfather, Anthony Labrey, died in Pans, France ; his 
maternal grandfather, R. J. Palmer, who was the first President of 
the Iron Mountain Railroad and grocery merchant, died in 1865, at 
Hanover, now Crystal City, Missouri. 

Our subject has always manifested a taste for active life and from 
that disposition, before his majority, engaged in trading in stock and 
following teaming for a livelihood. He was one of the first to volun- 
teer his services to the support of the Union at the breaking out of 
the late war, and was mustered into the Thirty-eighth Indiana Regi- 
ment at New Albany, on the seventeenth day of June, 1861. His 
regiment was assigned to Scribner's Brigade, General Rousseau's 
Division, Army of the Cumberland. At the noted and terrible battle 
of Perryville, Mr. Labrey served as Ordinance Master and was placed 
in charge of an ordinance train. While there, in the discharge of his 
duty, he was wounded in the left side and was given a six months' 
leave of absence. He afterwards was appointed Wagon Master of 
the Fourteenth Army Corps, General Walcott commanding. Prior to 
Walcott, the Fourteenth Corps was commanded by General George 
H. Thomas, so distinguished for his fighting pluck and splendid mili- 
tary judgment. Mr. Labrey participated in many battles and skir- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 727 

mishes, notably Perryville, Chickamauga and Kennesaw Mountain. 
At Chickamauga he was the second time wounded while trying to 
rally a wagon train. For all thi^ the Government has recognized his 
services by placing his name upon the pension rolls— a recognition 
worthily bestowed. Three months after the close of the war — in 1865 
— Mr. Labr y was in charge of one of the largest Government Wagon 
Posts. 

June 15th, 1865, at New Albany, he was married to Miss Minnie 
Gilchrist, and this union has been blessed by the birth of seven 
children, Maude, Effie, Bert, Kate, Annie, Minnie and Wilbur. In 
1867, our subject with, his then little family, came to Henderson, 
where he has been engaged, up to this writing, in teaming, contract- 
ing and carrying on a livery business. It is due to say of him that, by 
energy and industry, knowing no limit, he has proven his metal, 
gained a snug property and lives happily in the society of a loving 
family and a host of friends. 

Our subject was raised a Catholic, but, several years ago, united 
with the Baptist Church. He is a member of the Masonic and Odd 
Fellow fraternities, as he is also a member of the Iron Hall Insurance 
Benefit and the Grand Army of the Republic Societies. He is a member 
of the Henderson Fire Department, having, during his membership, 
filled all of the chairs, and performed upon numerous occasions, a noble 
duty, for which he is held in high esteem. 

PETER CHARLES KYLE.— To write a full, complete, and de- 
serving detailed review of the incidents and interesting surroundings, 
associated with the ancestral family and individual life of the o-entle- 
man whose name appears at the head of this article, would require 
a book of itself, but limit calls a halt in a work of this magnitude, and 
we must therefore ask pardon for the brevity exercised in his case ; 
nevertheless, we shall endeavor to give to those who follow after him, 
a sketch, full enough to leave them in no doubt as to his whereabouts 
from his birth up to this writing. Peter Charles Kyle is a native of 
Saarlouis of Rhenish, Prussia, four or five miles from the frontier of 
France, long in the possession of that country, and was fortified bv 
Vauban in the reign of Louis XIV. The Congress of Vienna gave it 
to Prussia in 1815. The date of his birth was on the eleventh of Novem- 
ber, 1839. His f ither'sname was Christian Kyle, his mother's maiden 
name Gertrude Herring. The father was born in Berlin in 1794, and 
served as Second Lieutenant on the guard of the King of Prussia, dur- 
ing the War of 1812. The mother was born at Saarlouis in the year 
1796. In November, 1840, when our subject was only one year old, 



728 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTV, KY. 

his father and mother and what children they had at that time, sailed 
for America in a sailing vessel and were ninety days on the ocean 
from Havre to New Orleans. They remained there some time, and 
then journeyed on up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to Madison, 
Indiana, where the old man engaged in the stone masonry business. 
In this he continued for four years, when an accidental fall produced 
conjestion of the lungs, and death ensued. The wife and widowed 
mother was thus left with five children to care for, the eldest ten years, 
the youngest, six weeks. The subject of this sketch was at that time 
only five years of age. The mother, by her own labor and the exercise 
of motherly economy, successfully cared for her little ones, until they 
arrived at an age that justified calling them to her assistance. The 
children were blessed with an intelligent energy that relieved the 
mother, and since 1870, she has found a welcome, comfortable home 
with her son, the subject of this sketch. On the 28th day of Decem- 
ber, 1886, Mrs, Kyle departed this life at the advanced age of ninety 
years, and it is comforting to know that in giving up a long, well spent 
life to take on one more full of sunshine, all was peace and fearless 
submission. 

Mr. Kvle, the subject of this sketch, was educated at the Madison, 
Indiana, public schools, and, during his life in that city, learned the art 
of bricklaying. During the year 1857, he went South and settled in 
Bayou La Fourche Parish, Louisiana, and there followed his trade up 
to the twentieth of May, 1860, when he joined the Louisiana Army an i 
was made Lieutenant of the Assumption Blues. Soon after he was 
sent with his command to the mouth of Bayou La Fourche River and 
there built, or assisted in building, a fort. At the completion of this 
work he received si discharge from the State and immediately set to 
work recruiting a company for the Confederate Service. He was not 
long in doing this, and with his troops joined the Eighth Louisiana Reg- 
giment and was sent to Virginia. From Virginia he was permitted and 
directed to return to his home and recruit and reorganize a company 
of cavalry. This company was recruited to its full number in a short 
while, and under the command of Captain Albert Cage, was assigned 
to Gen. Wirt Adams' command. Subsequent to this, he was placed 
on detached duty in the Signal Service Corps and assigned to the 
commands of Generals Pemberton and Bowen, at Grand Gulf and 
Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

He surrendered, with Pemberton's command, to General U. S. 
Grant on the fourth day of July, 1864, and in the following September 
was exchanged. He again re-entered active service and was assigned 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY 729 

to the cavalry under General Wirt Adams. His daring disposition 
lead him, with two comrades, to make a night raid into Natchez, and, 
as a result, all three of them ^ere taken prisoners, and sent to 
Camp Morton, Indianapolis, Indiana, where they arrived Christmas 
day, 1864. Mr. Kyle was held a prisoner of war until May 14th, 
1865, when hj was set at liberty. The war having terminated, he 
left the prison walls and settled in Thorntown, Indiana, where he 
remained until February, 1867, when he removed to Henderson. 

On August 5th, 1865, he married, at Thorntown, Miss Phoebe 
Ann Thompson, granddaughter of Captain Phil. Thompson, who 
fought with the Harrison Guards at the battle of Tippecanoe, and 
afterwards settled near Stockwell Indiana. By this marriage there 
were five children, four of whom are now living, John W , Louisa, Pe- 
ter C. and Edward. The eldest child, Jacob, met a tragic and most 
distressing death. He was quite a child, and while out driving on the 
road, the horses became frightened, ran away, and little Jake was 
killed. On the twenty-third day of October, 1873, Mrs. Kyle, whose 
life had been devoted to her husband and children, departed this life, 
and thus the bereaved husband was left with four children to care for 
and bring up in the world. Faithfully he performed this duty until 
the twentieth day of January, 1880, when he took unto himself a 
second wife. Miss Louise Thompsoti, sister of his first wite, who has 
performed the duties of maternal head of the family most satisfactorily 
from the date of her marriage up to this writing. 

Mr. Kyle is a contractor of bricU and stone work, doing a large 
business, and enjoys the confidence of the entire community. He 
served a term of years as Superintendent of the screets of the city, and 
it is said by knowing ones that the position was never before or since 
so well filled. He was at all times watchful, diligent and active, and 
all of his work was done with an eye to permanency and not slushed 
over as is so often the case. In politics he recognizes no party, but 
holds himself aloof to vote and think as his own conscience dictates. 
In religion, he was born a Catholic, but has never affiliated with the 
church — in fact, he is not much of a churchman in any sense of the 
word. Yet, he is liberal to a fault, open hearted, willing at all times 
to do unto others as he would be done by, loves his friends and has a 
host of them. He is a leading member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias, and has represented his 
lodges in the grand bodies of the State. 



730 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON McCLURE.— The subject of this 
sketch was born in Union County, seven miles east of Morganfield, 
on the seventeenth day of April, 1833, and was the only child of Alex- 
ander McClure, of Rockbridge County, Virginia, a comer to Kentucky 
in 1812. His early education was obtained from the ordinary schools 
of his county, until at the age of fourteen years he was sent to New 
Albany, Indiana, and placed under the tutorage of Prof. John B. An- 
derson. He remained three years at New Albany, and then entered 
Centre College, Danville, where he completed his education. He 
then returned to Union County, and commenced farming upon a large 
and successful scale. At the age of twenty-six, and in January, 1859, 
Mr. McClure was married to Miss Mary H. Dixon, daughter of Cap- 
tain Henry Dixon, and granddaughter of Capt Hal Dixon. On Janu- 
ary 1st, 1870, he removed with his family to Henderson County, and 
on the first day of January, 1872, occupied his new and handsome 
residence in the town of Corydon, whciC he has since continued to 
reside. 

Mr. McClure has served a number of terms as Trustee of the 
Public School of the town of Corydon, and twice or more times hon- 
ored in his appointment as Chairman. For five years or more he has 
been appointed by the County Court, Trustee of the Henderson High 
School. In every position ot trust he has evinced marked ability and 
good, reliable judgment. Mr. McClure is a man of large means and 
is regarded one of the staunchest men of the county. His home is 
one of the happiest and handsomest. Mrs. McClure is a most excel- 
lent lady, of fine judgment, and to her, perhaps, a great share of credit 
is due her husband's success in life. They have three children. The 
eldest, Miss Anna, married several years since, Mr. L. E. Hearne, of 
Boyle County. Henry is a brilliant young man, and will eventually 
make his mark in the world. Within the last twelve months, Mr. Mc- 
Clure has built in Corydon a magnificent flouring mill of large capacity 
and capable oi turning out the best brands of flour known to the trade- 

JAMES NATHANIEL POWELL, M. D.— Dr. Powell, son of 
Nathaniel B. Powell and grandson of Col. James Powell, one of the 
early pioneers, was born in Henderson County, near Corydon, on the 
first day of June, 1837. He received his early training from the 
neighborhood schools until 1856, when he matriculated at Bethel 
College, Russellville, Ky., where he remained two years Subse- 
quently he studied medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Dunham, 
of Uniontown, and Dr. John N. Dorsey, of Corydon. He attended 
the Louisville Medical University, receiving two courses of lectures 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 731 

during the erms of 1860, '61 and '62. He then returned to Corydon 
and commenced the practice of his profession. 

On the fifth dav of Mav, 1868, Dr. Powell married Miss Bettie, 
daughter of Dr. John N. Dorsev, and has several children. Dr. Powell 
is a physician of prominence in the profession, enjoys a large practice 
and has been remarkably successful in the treatment of diseases. 
He is a gentleman of excellent habits and deservedly popular. He 
has served as Trustee of the town of Corydon and of the Public 
School at that place. 

HON. JOSEPH VALENTINE OWEN.— The subject of this 
sketch was born in Columbus, Kentucky, on the twenty-seventh day 
of July, 1851. When at the age of one year, his father removed to 
Paducah, and there remained up to his death, at which time young 
Joseph was fourteen years of age. He was then taken by his uncle, 
Dr. Owen, to Hopkins County, where he remained one year, when he 
concluded to locate in Corydon. To this end, therefore, he packed 
his wordly goods in a hand satchel and footed it overland. Mr. Owen 
inherited nothing save a strong mind and ample energy to back it. 
His education was limited, yet every spare moment was devoted to 
the improvement of his mind. Arriving at Corydon, he was soon 
given a situation with T. C. Hart, and, during this time, attended 
as best he could, a private school. He soon after went to King's 
Mills and taught school there ; then engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness. In 1871 he returned to Corydon and entered into the dry goods 
business with H. A. Powell. In 1873 the firm changed to Thos. W. 
Powell and himself. During the summer of 1875, Mr. Owen sold out 
to Green W. Pritchett, and, at the earnest solicitation of friends, 
made the race for Representative, as an Independent, against Isham 
Cottingham, and was elected by a majority of 1.080 votes. He served 
during the term of 1875 and '76, and, during the time, introduced 
several important bills, among the number one regulating the election 
of constables, greatly simplifing matters and saving a large and un- 
necessary expense. In 1876, Mr. Owen was again a candidate, but 
was defeated by the Hon. M. Merritt. He then purchased the stock 
of H. A. Powell, May 6th, 1876 A year or two afterwards he built 
a large two-story business house, the second story, 35x60, being set 
apart for a town hall. 

On the sixteenth day of October, 1877, Mr. Owen married Miss 
Tina Powell, daughter of H. A. Powell and granddaughter of James 
W. Gibson. They have had several children. On the tenth day of 
March, 1884, a fire swept Corydon, and Mr. Owen was one of the 



732 HISTORY OF HENDKRSON COUNTY, KY. 

largest losers, his storehouse and hall being consumed. Nothing 
daunted, he rebuilt, providing himself with a larger and far better 
house. The second house was of brick and thought to be fireproof, 
but, on the ninth day of April, 1887, another and still larger fire 
swept Corydon, and Mr. Owen was again burned out, house, stock 
and all. For the third time he has builded again. There is no limit 
to his industry and enterprise. 

The grandfather of Mr. Owen, Joseph Owen, was one of the first 
Magistrates in Union County, and, at one time, owned the Saline Salt 
Works in Illinois. His great uncle, Abraham Owen, was killed at 
the battle of Tippecanoe, and his name is inscribed upon the Soldiers' 
Monument at Frankfort. He was a Colonel, commanding a regiment 
of Kentucky troops. 

Mr. Owen has served as Trustee of the town and Public School, 
and has been a liberal contributor to every public enterprise. He is 
an enterprising, thrifty merchant. 

HON. HENRY FIELDING TURNER was born on the 
twenty-ninth day of April, 1829, in Fa3^ette County. Kentucky. He 
was the fourth son of Judge Fielding Lewis Turner, who immigrated to 
Favette Countv with his father, Lewis E. Turner, from Loudon 
County, Virginia, in the year 1786. 

Henry F. Turner graduated in the Law Department of the Tran- 
sylvania University, Lexington, at the age of nineteen years, and was 
admitted to the bar in Lexington during the same year. On the twenty- 
eighth day of February, 1(S49, the Legislature passed an act relieving 
him of the disabilities of minority; and thus he was fully authorized to 
practice his chosen profession. This was, perhaps, the first special 
act of the kind ever passed in the State, the General Law requiring 
the applicant to be twenty-one years of age. Mr. Turner has been a 
close student of his profession from that day to the present time. 

On the eighth day of May, 1850, he was married to Miss Lucinda, 
the only daughter of Doctor John Slavens, of Harrodsburg. They re- 
moved to Henderson County in the year 185.^ and settled the place 
where they now reside. Having been born and raised upon a farm, 
Mr. Turner has always loved the pursuit of agriculture, which he now 
carries on to a considerable extent, in addition to the practice of law. 
He was a large owner of slaves, and took the world easy, having 
around him all of the old-time luxuries Kentucky gentlemen were so 
wont to have in ante bellum days. His hospitable house was a home 
indeed where every caller was made to feel that he or she were at a 
second home. Nor has any of the old-time hospitality departed from 



^ 




W. W. SHELBY'S RESIDENCE. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 733 

this place ; the latch string still hangs on the outside, and the same 
habits are indulged in living and manners, as were the custom in the 
good old times long passed away. Mrs Turner is a lady of model 
intelligence and domestic virtues, and has been a life partner worthy 
the love bestowed upon her by her devoted husband. They have 
raised a family of brilliant children, four of whom are now living : 
Mrs. Josie Allen, of Chicago; Fielding L., of Ballard County; Mrs.W.W. ^ 
Shelby, and Miss Lucie, now living in Henderson. These ladies oc- 
cupy the highest social positions, and are eminently fitted to adorn any 
station in life. Mr. Turner came to Henderson at a time when its 
bar was one of the strongest in the State, but, by close application 
and watchfulness, he soon rose to the front, and has held that position 
to the present time. As a lawyer, he has been exceptionally success- 
ful, has made a fine record, and stands deservedly high at the bar. 
As a skillful and far-seeing business man, he has few equals in Hen- 
derson ; has refused, with one exception, all offers to engage in polit- 
ical turmoil, confining himself, with all his energy to his own business 
interests, and to a lively participation in the business and social pros- 
perity of his city and county. He has accumulated a handsome es- 
tate and enjoys life in the home of a happy and loving family. Mr. 
Turner has frequently served his city as Council advisor, and for a 
number of years has served as director of the Farmers Bank ; is a lib- 
eral contributor to every worthy public enterprise. He is a member 
of the Masonic Fraternity, having attained to the sublime degree of 
Knights Templar. 

WILLIAM W. SHELBY was born in the Point, opposite New- 
burgh, on the twenty-seventh day of August, 1836. His father being a 
man of more than ordinary means,and a well-to-do f armer,was enabled to 
give his son a liberal collegiate education. His early training was 
had in the private schools of Newburgh, Indiana, and from thence to 
Princeton College, Kentucky, where he remained three years. At 
the age of eighteen, he was sent to Hanover College, Indiana, where 
he remained two years. He then entered Georgetown, Kentucky, Col- 
lege, but, owing to the political complexion of the country, he became 
dissatisfied at the end of six weeks, and was granted an examination, 
and permitted to graduate. Mr. Shelby, then returned to his father's 
farm in the Point, and undertook a farmer's life. In 1856 his father 
removed to Owensboro, and young Shelby took control of the farm. 
He was a large grower of corn and tobacco up to 1866, and usually 
shipped his tobacco to European markets. In 1861 Mr. Shelby 
formed a partership with his uncle, John S. McCormick, and built a 



734 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

large tobacco stemmery at Scuffletown. In 1868, they built a large 
store room, and for many years, did a very large grocery, dry goods, 
and notion trade. In 1867, through the instrumentality of Mr. 
Shelbv, the Post Office Department at Washington was induced to 
establish an office at Scuffletown, and John Folden was appointed 
Postmaster. Mr. Shelby really was Postmaster, as he alone attended 
to all postal matters up to 1881. Shelby & McCormick did an im- 
mense business, and with very gratifying results. In addition to 
their tobacco stemmery and store, they built and operated a grist 
mill and blacksmith shop. They put up in strips for the European 
market, as high as five hundred hogsheads and one hundred hogs- 
heads of leaf. Their usual average was from three to four hundred 
hogsheads. 

The mercantile interest averaged, in annual sales, thirty thousand 
dollars. Mr. Shelby was, during the partnership, the active partner, 
and gave his entire attention to its affairs. Prior to the time he com- 
menced buying tobacco ; there was not much of a crop grown in the 
Point, but in 1877, there was 1,100,000 lbs. grown, and he became the 
purchaser of nearly the entire crop. This was the largest crop ever 
grown in the Point Precinct. Mr Shelby was a heavy grower of corn 
and tobacco, his crops frequently a\ eraging from ten to fifteen thous- 
and bushels of corn, and from fifty to one hundred thousand pounds of 
tobacco. During the early part of 1881, Mr. Shelby sold his store to 
Fulner & Allen, and in June came to Henderson to reside. On the 
twentv-fourth dav of October, 1877, he married Miss Marv E. Turner, 
third daughter of Hon. H. F. Turner, a lady of high social character 
and very handsome. As a result of this union, two children have 
been bom, Lucie and Georgia, two as bright jewels as are to be 
found«in the entire human family. Prior to his coming to Henderson, 
Mr. Shelby, and his uncle, John S. McCormick, purchased the Dun- 
lop tobacco stemmery on lower Main Street in the City of Henderson. 
For several years the firm purchased tobacco, but in September, 1882, 
he became, by purchase, the sole owner of the entire property. On 
the first day of July, 1882, having leased the lower saw mill, and laid 
in a large supply of logs, Mr. Shelby commenced sawing lumber for 
the trade. He carried on a very large business, but owing to the in- 
completeness of the mill and the heavy running expense attaching on 
that account, he abandoned the lumber business. During the sum- 
mer of 1882, a copartnership, consisting of W. W. Shelby, Fielding B. 
Turner and William Soaper, was formed, and, in September, the 
building of a hominy mill was begun. This mill, a large, three-story 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 735 

frame, with roomy cribs, warerooms and other rfecessary appendages, 
was soon completed and fully equipped with the best and latest 
machines and machinery known to the manufacturing trade. On the 
first day of January, 1883, the machinery was started. Two years 
afterwards Messrs. Shelby and Soaper purchased Turner's interest, 
and, from that time, Mr. Shelby has had entire control, and a splendid 
success he has made of it. 

In addition to the large business, demanding the almost exclusive 
attention of Mr. Shelby, in 1882,'83, he was a large buyer of wheat 
and walnut logs. In everything he has undertaken he has proven a 
success, until to-day he is justly regarded of superior business tact and 
far seeing judgment. 

Mr. Shelby, having gone from the schoolroom to hard and end- 
less work, had so overtaxed himself that recreation was positively 
needed; therefore, he visited Europe in 1875, and spent the greater 
part of the year traveling in that country. Returning home again, he 
took up the thread of his multiplied business and has devoted himself 
with an assiduity of purpose that has placed him among the foremost 
men of his State. As a citizen, Mr. Shelby is enterprising and public 
spirited, contributing freely of his time, means and ability. As a man, 
he is fearless, open, frank, sincere, not only sagacious, biit prudent, 
methodical and indefatigable, broad in his plans, keenly alive to the 
details in their execution and faithful under all circumstances to his 
engagements. 

In 1883,'84, Mr. Shelby built his present magnificent residence, 
certainly the handsomest in the city and much handsomer than very 
many metropolitan homes costing twice as much. From 1860 to 1875 
Mr. Shelby served the people of the Point District as Magistrate, and 
it is a fact, was never elected but once. The confidence imposed in 
him was unlimited. He also served as Postmaster from 1867 to 1881. 
He has never attached himself to a church or lod^e. 

SAMUEL E KING. — This gentleman was born in Marion 
County, Kentucky, on the thirteenth day of October, 1827, and came 
with his father, George W. King, to Henderson County when at the 
age of one year and settled in what is now known as the Pooltown 
neighborhood, some fourteen or fifteen miles out on the Madisonville 
road. At eight years of age, his father removed with his family onto 
the Ohio River at a point opposite Evansville. In the spring of 1846, 
when young King was nineteen years of age, his father again changed 
locations, settling this time near where Samuel E. King now lives. 
He lived with his father up to the day of his death, which occurred on 
the eighth day of November, 1854. 



736 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

On the twenty-eighth of September, 1854, the subject of this 
sketch married Miss Elizabeth White, daughter of Larkin White, and, 
after his father's death, purchased lands and began life in search of a 
fortune for himself and family, and, from a small beginning has accu" 
mulated until now he is regarded as one of the monied men of his 
section of the country. 

Mrs. King is the mother of eight children, and she and her faith 
ful husband yet live in the full enjoyment of good health. Mr. King 
has led an active farmer's life, and, unlike most men, has given his 
undivided time, in a most modest and unpretentious way to his own 
affairs, leaving others to do likewise. 

B. F. MARTIN, son of Stephen Martin, one of the first settlers 
of the Smith's Mills neighborhood, was born near Smith's Mills on the 
twenty-sixth day of July, 18ii9. In his youthful days, there were no 
regular schools, and the greater part of his education was gained from 
itinerant teachers. Near his father's house was Colonel Robert 
Smith's old sweep mill, the only one in the country around, and a part 
of work allotted to him, was the bolting of flour in an old fashioned 
hand bolter for the family use. This flour, when bolted, was, perhaps, 
as course as bran, yet it was so highly regarded as a luxury the little 
ones were only treated to cakes made of it once a week, on Sunday 
morning; another luxury to which he, with the other children was 
sometimes treated, was mush and milk for supper, supplied in a large 
bowl set before them, and each child permitted to dip for himself. 
Such a comfort or convenience as a pair of pants was not known until 
the boy had grown large enough to handle a plow. His usual dress 
consisted of a long coarse cotton garment, cool and airy — particularly 
in the winter time — with a button at the neck. All of the cloth, in- 
cluding cotton for the boys and linsey for the girls, was made at home 
on a hand loom. Thus the subject of this sketch grew up, and yet he 
lost no time in learning the ways of the world, and fitting himself for 
useful citizenship At the age of twenty-seven, on the twenty-third 
day of December, 1856, he married Miss Margaret, daughter of Col 
onel Robert Smith. They have two daughters living, one the wife of 
Dr. L. C. Royster, a oromising young physician, the other yet un 
married. Mr. Martin is the owner of a fine body of land, and is one 
of Henderson's most successful farmers. He is an influential man, 
and was the first constable of his district elected after the adoption of 
the new Constitution, in which office he served during the years 1851, 
'52, '53, '55, '56. He also served his district as Magistrate during 
the years 1857, '58, '59, and '60. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 737 

REV. A. HATCHITT is a son of Rev. Wm. Hatchitt ; he was 
born in Lunenburg County, Virginia, on the twenty-third day of July, 
1817, and came with his parents to Kentucky in 1828. His father 
settled in Henderson County, onPthe road leading from Henderson to 
Owensboro, about eight miles from Henderson. His father and 
mother being earnest Christian people, Mr. Hatchitt had most excel- 
lent moral training in his early raising, but he grew out from under 
parental control, and became wild, and loved to associate with the 
" fast young men " of the day. But, becoming deeply impressed on 
the subject of religion, he at once quit his wild ways, and became a 
devoted Christian man. He was baptized by Rev. R. G. Garnett, and 
became a member of Grave Creek Church in 1838. Soon after this 
he procured a letter from that church, and joined Bethel Church, 
where he has remained an honored member ever since. 

He began preaching in the year 1844, and was ordained at Bethel 
Church September 7th, 1845, Elders K. G. Hay, Wm. Whayne and 
Joseph Board, officiating. He has been Pastor of Bethel, Zion, Cash 
Creek, Grave Creek and Cherry Hill Churches. He has been a very 
successful preacher, both as pastor and evangelist. The matter of 
his preaching has always been good. His modesty has prevented him 
from being more widely, known, and he never sought to be noticed. 
We are indebted for these notes to a friend of his. He has done more 
preaching for less pay, so far as this world's goods are concerned, 
than any other minister in Henderson County. He has, perhaps, mar- 
ried twice as many people as any preacher now living in the county. 
Several years ago, he had the misfortune to lose the wife of his early 
manhood, since which time his life has seemed lonely ; but his labors 
have not abated, and with a life of " good work " behind him, he is 
readv for the reward just before him, and there are none to doubt that 
the reward will be full. 

WILKINS N. ROYSTER was born in Henderson County, 
twelve miles south of Henderson and one mile and a half west of 
Robards Station, on the twenty-eighth day of April, 1830. His 
father, T. W. Royster, was one of the earlier settlers of that section 
of the county, and, with him, young Wilkins toiled until he was twen- 
ty-one years of age. During his youthful days, he attended the first 
school at George Rudy's old school house, and, by industry and hard 
study, managed to provide himself with a respectable understanding 
of the primary and some of the intermediate branches of study. Ar- 
riving at the age of twenty-one, he pursued his studies and added 

47 



738 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

o-reallv to what he had learned while attending the neighborhood 
school. In the year 1S51, he purchased himself a little home of one 
hundred acres, one mile south of his father's, and settled down in the 
woods to hard work, clearing his land and arranging for crop raising. 
On the twenty-fourth day of February, 1853, he married Miss 
Jane Spencer, eldest daughter of Enoch Spencer, who has proven a 
faithful helpmate. Since his marriage, Mr. Royster, by economy, 
excellent judgment and unceasing labor, has accumulated, until his 
farm numbers now three hundred and forty acres of the finest farming 
land in Henderson County, and is in a most excellent state of cultiva- 
tion. He has raised a family of four boys and two girls, and is legarded 
as one of the most substantial men, and certainly one of, if not the 
best, growers of tobacco in the county. In 1S61 he was made a Mason, 
a member of Cairo Lodge, and, though livino^ a great distance away, 
has faithfully served his lodge in the capacity of Senior Deacon and 
Senior Warden. He is justly held in high esteem for his many shin- 
ing traits of social and religious worth, and, though often importuned,, 
has steadfastly refused political preferment. 

LARKIN WHITE, JR., was born on the twenty-ninth day of 
September, 1820, on the Pamphlin place near Zion. He attended the 
Zion school, and at that time there was no other building at Zion, which 
was taught first by Rev. William Hatchett and then by Henry Poole. 
This school, unlike most of the educational institutions of the county, 
was taught throughout the whole year, and from this he gained a good 
English education. At the age of twenty he came to Henderson and 
entered into the employ of A. B. Barret, with whom he lived and con- 
tinued to do business for eighteen years. In the year of 1857 he pur- 
chased of Dr. H. H Farmer the farm on which he now lives, and from 
that time to this has been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
On the seventeenth day of March, 1856, Mr. White and Mrs. Lucy 
Watson were married. On the twenty-first day of June, 1863, this union 
was broken by the death of his wife. On the twenty-sixth day of 
September, 1865, he married his second wife, Miss Lucy Hicks, daugh- 
ter of old Uncle Ben Hicks, of Hebardsville, with whom he lived in 
marital feilicity until the twenty-third day of January, 1883, when she 
died. By this marriage Mr. White has four children living, one 
daughter and three sons. His daughter, Miss Larkie, bids fair to be- 
come a most brilliant woman, while his young sons are bright and 
promising. Mr. White has never held a political ofifice and never was 
a candidate for one. Since the organization of the Henderson Fair 
Company in 1857, he has been one of its most active supporters, a 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 739 

greater part of the time serving as director. During the year 1868, 
'69, 70 and 71 he was a Trustee of the old Seminary fund. No man 
has ever lived in Henderson County more res'pected than the subject 
of this sketch, starting life posses'sed of a very limited capital, by hard 
work and the exercise of fine mental faculties, he has justly won a 
place among the recognized monied men of the county. There is but 
little of the demonstrative about Mr. White, but there is an abundance 
of the milk of human kindness, of which those who know him best in 
the business walks of life can truthfully testify. He is a man of warm 
impulses, and as true as steel, truthful, honest, courageous. He is one 
of the best farmers in the county and deservedly influential. 

Since the foregoing was written, Miss 'Larkie married Robert 
Mallory, of Henderson, and has one son. 

JOHN O'BYRNE, the subject of this sketch, is a son of Thos. 
O'Byrne, a native of Ireland, and was born in the City of Buffalo, New 
York, on the twenty-second day of March, 1834. He traveled the 
country with his father, living first here and there until he arrived at 
an age that justified him in learning a trade for himself. He had re- 
ceived a good English education, and was blessed with a mind capable 
of embracing with ease any amount of information. He learned the 
trade of a brick mason under his father, and by the time he was ready 
to launch out upon the great sea of life on his own account, had gained 
a knowledge of the profession unsurpassed by any western mechanic. 
He was a frequent visitor to Henderson, and claimed Henderson and 
Evansville alternately as his home. He made frequent visits to the 
lower Mississippi River during the winter months, up to the breaking 
out of the war. In the summer of 1856 he came to Henderson and 
worked with Captain W. B. Vanzandt, who was engaged at that time 
in building the Farmers' Bank, now the Presbyterian Parsonage, on 
the corner of Elm and Second streets. Since 1861 Mr. O'Byrne has 
made this place his permanent home. He has been married twice, 
first in the Town of Carlisle, Indiana, secondly in the City of Evans- 
ville. Starting on a pittance of this life's goods, he has, by industry, 
economy and fine business tact, secured himself and family a beautiful 
home and a competency outside to comfort and cheer them in their 
old age. Mr. O'Byrne enjoys the high prerogative of being the head 
of a family consisting of a devoted and accomplished wife and three 
handsome children, two daughters and one son. In the year 1875 
he formed a co-partnership with Joseph Hicks, under the firm name 
of O'Byrne & Hicks, and ever since recognized as one of the leading 
firms of the West. He has served his ward in the City Council and 



740 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTV, KY. 

could do so again, but persistently declines the honor. He has fre- 
quently received the appointment of Supervisor of Tax Books, a com- 
pliment gracefully accorded his honesty and superior judgment. Upon 
the organization of the Building and Loan Association, he was elected 
a director and has so continued to this day. Upon the recent organ- 
ization of the Planters' Bank, he was elected a Director. 

JOHN G. HOLLOWAY was the eldest son of John Holloway, of 
Virginia, a soldier of the Revolutionary \V'ar, and who, subsequent to 
that time, removed to Henderson County, where he owned a large 
body of fine land. Mr. Holloway was a large grower of tobacco^ 
and for many years up to 1820 was a successful grower of cotton. He 
married in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, Anne, eldest daughter of 
William Starling and Susanna Lyne. Mrs. Holloway was a woman 
distinguished for her great prudence and excellent sense. At the 
death of her husband, she was left with a large family and an en- 
cumbered estate, but, by her energy and fine management, she freed 
the estate and became flourishing and prosperous. She directed all 
things until John G., the subject of this sketch, was enabled to relieve 
her of such cares. It is said of Mrs. Holloway, that no woman ever 
lived or died in Henderson County more universally loved and re- 
spected. 

John G. Holloway was born on the second day of September, 
1802, and was educated in Transylvania University at Lexington, Ky. 
In early life he took an active inteiiest in political affairs, and was a 
popular and effective speaker; but he preferred the peaceful field of 
agriculture to the turbulent pool of politics, and, therefore, turned his 
attention to the management and improvement of an extensive landed 
estate, and becoming a very large slave owner, was a successful planter 
and thrifty farmer. While in politics, however, he represented his 
county several times in the Lower House of the Legislature and his 
district in the Senate. He was a man of strong convictions, yet one 
of the noblest hearted of the human kind. During the Rebellion he 
was a pronounced Union man and become so obnoxious to the rebels 
and guerrillas that his life was frequently threatened. He was a heavy 
looser by the war, yet he maintained his adherence to the Union — a 
man of decided views and positive character, weilding great influence 
in his county, and, in fact, wherever known. He was greatly respected 
for his integrity of character, and was always sought after for places 
of trust and responsibility — such as trustee of funds and guardian of 
estates, requiring honesty, judgment and capacity. Mr. Holloway was 
twice married, first, to Miss Sarah R. Terry, on April 1st, 1830; she 



^ 




JOHN G. HOLLOW AY. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 741 

died February 10th, 1831, without issue. September 4th, 1838, he, 
married Miss Laura M. Smith ; unto them have been born eleven 
children, seven of whom are living. Peter Smith, William Starling, 
Nannie R., Edmund Starling, Louisa Anderson, Mary Turpen, and 
Robert Anderson. William Starling married Miss Mary Williams, a 
bright, handsome woman of fine domestic traits of character ; Nannie 
R. married F. B. Cromwell, and has a large family of children; Ed- 
mund Starling married Miss Mollie Mayo, of Daviess County, a lady 
of rare domestic qualities and greatly beloved by all who know her. 
They have four children. Louisa Anderson married Judge L. P. 
Little, of the Owensboro Circuit, a lawyer of ability and man of strong 
mind ; she has children. Mary Turpin married Judge Joe McCarroll, 
of Hopkinsville, a man of fine business character, and has children. 
The other children are yet unmarried. John, Jr., was a distinguished 
officer in the Union Army, and one of the brightest men of his age ever 
born in the county. He died at Russellville after his return from the 
Morgan raid in September, 1863. Mrs. Holloway is one of the most 
lovable of women. Her life has been as pure as an angel's whisper, 
and her noble, true, good heart, has been continuously wrapped up in 
her jewels, her children. Mr. Holloway died suddenly of heart disease 
on the evening of the eighteenth of January 1871, leaving a very large 
estate. Of his life, a friend who knew him intimately, has furnished 
the following tribute: 

'•John G. Holloway was fortunate in his parentage. His father 
was of robust integrity, firm adherence to correct principles, indepen- 
dent spirit and inflexible in his views of right. These qualities did 
not protect him from the exhibition of a spirit that may be called 
arbitrary on occasion, but preserved him clean from the temptation of 
immoralitv. 

"Of his mother I can hardly write and escape the use of language 
that may be deemed extravagant panegyric. She was a modest wo 
man. Her modest, unpretending disposition, and all her womanly vir- 
tues were balanced by her spirit of independence and devotion to duty. 
She was industrious and frugal, yet these qualities were crowned by a 
gentle and bountiful charity. There is no doubt her son, John, for the 
most part owed his success and position in life to her counsel and 
example. When Major Holloway died she found herself with a large 
farni and a number of slaves to manage. John was young, and as his 
school days had left but little time for farm work, was wholly inexperi- 
enced. But with the help, encouragement and advice of his mother- 
he conducted the business successfully, and the Holloway residence 



742 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

»was noted for order, hospitality and good living. He continued on 
the old farm all his life, never engaged in dangerous speculation, kept 
up the reputation of the old home, and it is noted to day, long after 
his death, under the management of his widow and her children, for 
the same order, hospitality and good living. 

As John Holloway was of fair education for his time and place, 
possessed a clear and vigorous mind, it was natural that a man of his 
position would take interest in public affairs. Identified with the 
Whigs, he became a force in the Whig party, and contributed lo its pop- 
ularity and success in Henderson, until it was shattered in the impend- 
ing conflict on the slavery question. He represented Henderson in 
the Legislature and the district, of which Henderson was a part, in the 
State Senate. He acted well his part in both positions and never lost 
the confidence and respect of his constituents. In the presidential 
contest preceding the Rebellion, he supported Bell and Everett, as he 
considered this the safest and most conservative ticket, in the troubled 
and exciting times immediately before the bloody revolution, which 
few foresaw, but which was stirring then in the heated, social and po- 
litical elements. At the opening of the Rebellion, he espoused the 
cause of the Union, and gave his strong mind and will for the preser\a- 
ation of the nation in its grand integrity, and gave his blessirg to one 
of his boys who enlisted under the stars and stripes. That he may have 
opposed and severely criticized many things done in the conduct of 
the war for the Union the writer of this will admit, but the honor, 
which will never grow dim, may be claimed for him, that he was a 
brave Union man. He died suddenly, and, as we hope, a painless 
death, and, by his prudence and fostering care, left ample provision 
for his faithful wife and children. While it may be said all men have 
their imperfections, yet it may be said that the dominant qualities in 
the character of John G. Holloway, only tend to good society and pro- 
mote the public welfare. " 

Since the foregoing sketch of Mr. Hollowav was written, Mrs. 
Louisa Little has departed this life, leaving a devoted husband and 
five children to mourn her loss. She was a noble woman, possessed 
of many marked traits of character, and very much beloved by her 
friends as well as family. 

COLONEL JAMES HILLYER HOLLOWAY.— The subject 
of this brief biographical sketch, so well known in Henderson County, 
and so universally esteemed for his purity of character and many 
social qualities, was born in the then town of Henderson the first day 
of February, 1835, His eyes first beheld the light of the world in the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 743 

old frame building yet standing on the corner of Fourth and Main 
streets. At the time of his birth his father, William S. Holloway, 
was associated with Samuel Stites as merchant in the general drv 
goods bnsiness. When at the age of two years his father purchased 
what is now known as the Adams farm, one mile west of the Owens- 
boro road, and adjoining the farms of William S. and Samuel Elam. 
While on-this farm, and before he was large enough, or old enough to 
do labor, it became a part of his daily duties to martial the young 
negroes, and, with them, drive a large flock of turkeys to the tobacco 
field, for the purpose of destroying the army of worms which prey with 
such wanton gluttonness upon the broad leaves of that valuable plant. 
It was here, while marching and counter-marching the little negroes, 
and moving the turkeys by the right and left flank, charging the worms 
in one section of the field, and then in another, that he first inherited 
a taste to command This taste grew upon him, as we shall see, until 
it eventuated in producing a most worthy and brave commander in 
defense of his country during the war between the North and the 
South. While a small boy upon his father's farm, he first learned the 
value of the alphabet and multiplication table. His aunt. Miss Eliza 
Hillyer, who possessed a strong taste for teaching and a peculiar 
charm of imparting knowledge to the young, organized a country 
school in a rude log cabin upon this farm, and was patronized by the 
surrounding neighborhood, numbering at that time only three or four 
families. He continued under the educational guidance of his aunt 
for a year, when his father, observing his rapid progress, brought him 
into the town that he might receive advantages beyond those offered 
at a small country school. He was placed to board at the residence 
of his .Hint, Mrs. Lucy Ann Gayle, then living in the old two-story log 
building on the corner of Elm and Third streets, know n as Blackberry 
Hall, where he remained during the school week, going home Friday 
evenings and returning to town Monday mornings. At Mrs. Gayle's 
he roomed with John and William J. Marshall and William and 
Charles T, Starling, all boys, his senior in years. His education was 
placed under the supervising care of Rev. John McCullagh, who was 
at that time teaching in the old town Seminary, a small one and one- 
half story brick building, located on the Seminary lot, opposite the 
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, on Fourth street. After boarding 
in town for a year, his father concluded to test his power of guiding a 
mule, so he placed at his disposal a favorite animal, which he was 
appointed to ride into town each morning and to return in the even- 
ing. Many a time the young soldier was dumped on the roadside, 



744 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and almost as frequently thrown into a mud-puddle ; fortunately, at no 
time, however, was he ever disabled. He, like almost all boys, was 
fond at times of riding fast, and, upon more than two or three occa- 
sions, while in a sweeping gallop, his mule was known to stop, hump 
his back and stand to witness young Holloway's passage through mid 
air and final lodgment upon term firma. Young Holloway continued 
to live with his father upon the farm until he had arrived at the age of 
thirteen years, riding to town during school days and working on 
Saturday in the tobacco patch. 

Mr. Samuel Stites, his father's former partner, having been a most 
successful merchant, and having amassed a large fortune for those 
days, sold his entire interest in the dry goods business to the father of 
young Holloway. Mr. Holloway then sold his farm and removed to 
town, taking charge of his new purchase. He continued his son at 
school until he was eighteen years of age, when he was taken as a 
clerk in the firm now composed of Thomas Evans and Wm. S. Hol- 
loway, under the firm name of Evans & Holloway. He continued to 
clerk for this firm for five years, when he resigned to accept a similar 
position in the book and stationary business with his uncle, Philo H. 
Hillyer. January, 1860, the firm of Evans & Holloway was dissolved, 
Thomas Evans retiring. Mr. Holloway thereupon proffered Wm. A. 
Hopkins, a young man of splendid business capacity and high moral 
culture, and who had been in the employ of the old firm for several 
years, and his son, James, the subject of this sketch, a partnership. 
The proposition was accepted, and the new firm organized under the 
name and style of Wm. S. Holloway & Co. In 1860, under and by 
the authority of an Act of the Kentucky Legislature, a State Guard 
or military organization was established in Kentucky, to be under the 
command of General Simon Boliver Buckner. Just why this organi- 
zation was brought to life at that time, what were the necessities for 
it, and what the oDJects to be obtained, is a matter of historical con- 
jecture. It is enough to know, that, that inflated military ardour and 
love for brass buttons and gold lace, which so attracts the variety of 
young men, broke out with violence of a prairie fire in many places in 
the State, and none more so than Hendeison. January 15th of this 
year, a company of State Guards was organized in Henderson, with 
Wm. P. Fisher, an old soldier of the Mexican War, and a man of 
handsome appearance and military bearing. Captain ; Hon. Ed. G. 
Hall, First Lieutenant, and Hon. Robert T. Glass, Second Lieuten- 
ant. Colonel Holloway, who was now twenty five years of age, found 
his first opportunity to indulge his military taste, and was one among 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 745 

the first to enroll his name as member of this compan3^ In a very 
short time the company was regularly equipped with splendid guns 
and accoutrements and uniformed in cadet gray. 

In the fall of 1860, owing to some irregularity, Captain W. P. 
Fisher resigned his office, whereupon at a company meeting First 
Lieutenant Ed. G. Hall was promoted to Captain, Second Lieutenant 
Robert T. Glass promoted to First Lieutenant, and the subject of this 
sketch elected Second Lieutenant. From the beginning there was a 
secret dissatisfaction manifest in the company and, ultimately, and not 
a very long time after its organization, upon the second election, a 
large number of the men in line resigned. In the early spring of 1861 
it was apparent to all thinking men, that the breach between the 
North and South could not be healed, and that war was to be the in- 
evitable result. Then it was that a division of opinion manifested 
itself on unmistakable utterances in the rank and file of the Hender- 
son company. Some denied the right of the Federal Government to 
call upon Kentucky for her enrolled soldiery to aid in suppressing the 
rebellion brought on by the Confederate States, while others accorded 
to the Government that right. Lieutenant Holloway was among the 
latter number who believed in the Government's right to suppress the 
Rebellion, and if necessary to that end, to call upon Kentucky for her 
enrolled militia, in order to hold the Union of States in tact. He be- 
lieved the South should seek redress for her grievances ( if she had 
any) in the Union and not out of it by the force of arms. This divis- 
ion of sentiment grew stronger day by day, when a number of those 
who held loyalty to the Government finding themselves outnumbered, 
withdrew from the company. Lieutenant Holloway tendered his resig- 
nation as third officer of the company, and, on the eleventh day of 
June, 1861, the same was accepted by General Simon Bolivar Buck- 
ner. Immediately upon the reception of his resignation. Lieutenant 
Holloway commenced recruiting what was then styled a " Home 
Guard " company, and so successful was he that, on the twenty-fourth 
day of June, only thirteen days, a company with a full complement of 
men was organized, with James H. Holloway as Captain ; Louis W. 
Danforth, First Lieutenant ; Willi m R, Lancaster, Second Lieuten- 
ant, and Andy Rowdin, Third Lieutenant. 

At that time there was great difficulty in procuring arms from the 
State. A great many people of Kentucky believed that there was a 
secret determination on the part of the Governor and other Kentucky 
officials to place the arms in possession of the State in some way, so 
that they could be seized at the proper time by the Confederates, and 



746 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

not let them cut to what was vulgarly styled the " Home Guards," a 
recognized Union organization. Be this as it may, the writer was de- 
tailed, and appointed to visit the Governor, not in the interest of Cap- 
tain Holloway's company particularly, but to secure arms for a com- 
pany organized prior to Holloway's. Arriving at Frankfort, an earlv 
interview was had with his excellency and others, and the matter 
brought to their attention. Ludicrous as it mav seem, this delegate 
was informed that in order to protect the arms of the State from seiz- 
ure by the Confederate authorities, they had all been safely packed 
and shipped to Paducah/^r safe keeping ; but, if there was a suffic- 
iency to equip two companies, and no requisitions held precedence, 
then the arms would be issued to the Henderson companies. Subse- 
quently a requisition was issued to the officer in charge at Paducah, to 
deliver what arms Henderson had applied for, and as soon as possible 
after this, Mr. William S. Johnson, a member of the company organ- 
ized prior to the one commanded by Captain Holloway, was detailed 
to go to Paducah, present the requisition and return with the 
arms. Upon his arrival, he found to his astonishment that the State 
arms had been removed to Mayfield, in the interior of the State, 
and the heart of rebeldom '' for safe keeping^ He proceeded to May- 
field, and there learned that only a few days before Kentucky's arms 
sent for safe keeping had simply passed through the towm on to Dix- 
ie's land. It was the day of the first battle of " Bull Run," and this 
place selected too, as a safe repository for the arms of the State, was 
politically as hot as a pepper box with all of the heat on the sunny 
side. It was so w'arm that a '' Home Guard " took his medicine with 
ice in it, and thus kept cool. Mr. Johnson returned without any arms. 
Captain Holloway determined not to be outdone, and, through his in- 
domitable energy, a full complement of guns and accouirements were 
obtained from General Lovell H. Rouseau, then recruiting a regiment 
for the Government service at Jeffersonville, Indiana. Captain Hol- 
loway drilled his company on the streets of Henderson night after 
night. His men being un-uniformed, presented a sorry appearance 
to the glittering epauletted squad of the Buckner State Guards. 
September 20th, 1861, he received, through General James S. Jackson, 
who was then recruiting a regiment of cavalry at Owensboro, from 
the State Military Board at Frankfort, an order to proceed with fifty 
men to lock and dam No. 1 at Spottsville, on Green River, and protect 
the same, the order stating that lock Nos. 3 and 4 had been destroyed, 
and Nos. 1 and 2 were threatened. In obedience to this order he, 
with a detail of about forty men of his own company, and Company 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 747 

"A," Lieutenant Charles T. Starling commanding, left Henderson 
late in the afternoon, marching over rough roads through a heavy 
sleet and rain, arriving at the l-@ck about ten o'clock in the night. 
Here the command remained until October 5th, 1861, when it was 
relieved by a detachment of Federal troops sent up from Evansville. 
Captain Holloway returned to Henderson and commenced recruiting 
a company for the Federal service. On the fifteenth day of October, 
he established Camp Holloway, on the grounds of the Henderson 
Fair Company, where General James M. Shackelford and General 
Ben. H. Bristow were engaged recruiting the Twenty-fifth Kentucky 
Infantry Regiment. On November the twenty-fifth, 1861, Captain 
Holloway and company were regularly mustered into the United 
States service at Ashbysburg, on Green River. The company was 
mustered into the Twenty-fifth Regiment, and was lettered •' K." 
Shortly after this the Twenty-fifth Regiment was assigned to General 
Thomas L. Crittenden's division, then organizing at Calhoon, on 
Green River, and brigaded under the command of Colonel Charles 
Cruft, of the Thirty-first Indiana Regiment, acting Brigadier General. 

On the second of December, 1861, the Twenty-fifth Regiment 
was attached to General Thomas L. Crittenden's Division, then at 
Calhoun, on Green River, and assigned to General Charles Cruft's 
Brigade. On the ninth day of February,1862,General Cruft,under orders, 
embarked his division on board a fleet of transports and proceeded 
down Green and the Ohio Rivers to Paducah, where he received 
orders to proceed to Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River. Arriving 
th^re, it was soon found that the fort had surrendered ^o General Grant. 
General Cruft was then directed to return to Paducah, which he 
immediately did, and there received orders to proceed to Fort Don- 
nelson and reinforce Grant. The brigade was hurried up Cumberland 
River and disembarked a few miles below the fort and assigned to 
General Lew VVallace's Division. Captain Holloway and his company 
fought nobly at the battle of Donelson and, to his credit, be it said> 
made the regimental report of the part taken by the regiment to his 
Brigade Commander. He was then sent to Fort Henry, and from 
thence to Shiloh, where he was taken ill with typhoid fever, and re- 
turned home under sick furlough. During his illness, the great battle 
of Shiloh was fought, and after the fight his regiment was consoli- 
dated with the Seventeenth Kentucky, Colonel John H. McHenry, 
commanding. Captain Holloway, although offered promotion, de- 
clined and tendered his resignation, which was accepted. At Donel- 
son, Cyrus Steele, a brother of Captain O. B. Steele, of the Confed- 



748 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

erate Army, and who was engaged in the same fight, was mortally 
wounded. Lieutenant John G. HoUoway was also severely wounded 
— in fact, his company and regiment were literally cut to pieces. On 
the twenty-sixth day of July, 1862, Captain Holloway received a 
commission as First Major of the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, then 
organizing at Henderson by Colonel James M Shackelford and 
Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Bristow. Twenty days afterwards, 
Major Holloway had in camp nine hundred men, when he received 
orders to recruit no more, and to consolidate his men into companies 
of one hundred and four men each. During this time he was con- 
stantly engaged in scouting the country and was engaged a number of 
times with the rebels. It was upon one of his raids into Union 
County that Owen Glass, a Confederate and native of Henderson, was 
killed. He frequently met, in combat, his old friend and school mate, 
Colonel Adam Johnson ; his old friend and one time commander. 
Colonel Ed. G. Hall, and Bob Martin, whose name was a terror 
throughout the country. On November 4th, 1862, he was ordered 
with his command, to Bowling Green. This trip he made overland, 
and, at Summer's store, in McLean County, was attacked by Captain 
Fowler's company, of Johnson's Command. Fowler was repulsed by 
Lieutenant I^eter P. Brown, now of Cairo, and Fowler killed. 

Major Holloway was then actively engaged in scouring the 
country from Russellville to the Cumberland River, where he removed 
an immense pile of rock from the channel of the river that had been 
placed there by the Confederates. He was, for a long time, engaged 
in gathering and forwarding supplies to Rosencranz's Army, at Nash- 
ville. On the first day of May, 1863, Major Holloway was mustered 
in as Lieutenant Colonel of the Eighth Kentucky, to date from Janu- 
ary 1st, 1863. June 27th he was ordered forward to Burksville, to 
intercept General John H Morgan, who was at that time moving into 
Kentucky. Morgan had crossed the river ahead of him, and then it 
was a whip and spur race to the Ohio at Brandenburg, where Morgan 
crossed into Indiana. Major Holloway was along in all of that terrible 
chase. At Bufifington's Island he overtook and charged a portion of 
Morgan's men, capturing three hundred and ninety seven prisoners. 
After several days spent in the locality of Buffington Island, his 
regiment was ordered back to Russellville, via Louisville. 

The chase after Morgan was a terrible one, the soldiers remain- 
ing in their saddles most of the time from June 27th to July 22d. 
September 23d, Colonel Holloway's term of enlistment having expired, 
he was mustered out of the service, and, although tendered a regiment, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 749 

respectfully declined the offer. After being mustered out, he remained 
with his cousin, Lieutenant John G. Holloway, who was suffering from 
an aggravated attack of typhoid fever, and from which he died on the 
twenty-seventh day of SeptembeT, 1863. 

April 19th, 1864, Colonel Holloway married, in Fayette County, 
Miss Mollie E. Williams, the accomplished daughter of General John 
S. Williams, of the Confederate Army, and who, in the War with 
Mexico, earned the sobriquet of " Cerro Gordo," for distinguished 
services, in storming and capturing the Mexican heights bearing that 
name. General Williams served as United States Senator from Ken- 
tucky. 

Mrs. Holloway was born in Clark County, July 24th, 1843, and 
is the mother of five children, Mary Ann Holloway, born- in Hender 
son ; Pattie Harrison, Lizzie Hillyer, John Williams and James 
Hillyer Holloway, born in Clark County. Here the Colonel has 
followed farming, raising Shorthorn and high grade cattle, horses, 
mules, and other stock, besides cultivating all of the cereals and 
hemp until January, 1878, when he removed to Winchester, the county 
seat, and engaged in the general grocery and hardware business, and 
has so continued up to the present time. He has frequently been 
importuned to offer for political office, but has steadfastly declined, 
preferring the peace and comforts of the home circle to the turbulent 
uncertainties and vexations of official political life. Since 1868 he 
has held the honorable position of Elder in the Presbyterian Church. 
He is also, at this time, President of the Clark & Bourbon Turnpike 
Road Company ; a member of the Winchester City Council ; a director 
of the Grange Mutual Benefit Insurance Company, Georgetown, 
Kentucky. The Colonel is greatly esteemed by all who know him, 
and he enjoys life with his charming wife and family to its fullest 
latitude. 

CAPTAIN CHARLES G. PERKINS, the subject of this sketch, 
was born in the City of Zenia, Green County, Ohio, on the sixteenth 
day of March, 1837. His education was obtained from the Public 
and High Schools of Cincinnati, Ohio. During his boyhood days he 
entered a hardware store as clerk, and continued in this line of busi- 
ness for perhaps two years. This life was not exciting enough for him 
— his quick, active mind needed more lattitude, something more stim- 
ulating, more comprehensive, more outstretching, therefore, the re- 
mainder of his life to the beginning of the Rebellion, was devoted to 
railroading and steamboating. During the year 1861, having gained 
an exoerience in river navigation that entitled him to a first position 



750 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

among men of marine life, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy, and was 
soon after appointed Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Commander, with 
the rank of Captain, in the army, and placed in command of the U. 
S. Gunboat "Brilliant." The " Brilliant " was actively engaged in 
the service of the government up to April, 1865, patrolling the Ohio, 
Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. She was frequently 
anchored in front of Henderson, and, no doubt was the means 
of saving the town from the incursions of prowling bands of 
thieves and plundering combinations of irresponsible men. Cap- 
tain Perkins held frequent interviews with the better people 
of Henderson, and, so conservative was he in the construc- 
tion of Naval orders and official duties, he soon won the con- 
fidence of the people, who were glad to have his protection at all times* 
and were equally chagrined when he was removed to other fields of 
service. His effort was to respect and protect, not to suspect and 
destroy. He was mainly instrumental in capturing and returning 
many runaway slaves, and by this conservative, honest course, he 
made a friend of every man in the town. Much of Captain Perkin's 
war history will be found elsewhere in this volume. 

On the seventeenth day of November, 1863, at the family resi- 
dence, in the Town of Henderson, Captain Perkins was married to 
Miss Annie Terry, daughter of Nathaniel D. and Sarah Terry, and 
granddaughter of Captain Robert Terry, a noted pioneer of this 
county. The fruits of this union have been seven children, J. Rov, 
Sarah, Lizzie, Ella, Charlie, Mamie and Eddie, all of whom are now 
living except the eldest son J. Roy, who was lost in the explosion and 
sinking of the steamer " La Mascott " in the Mississippi River, below 
St. Louis, October 5th, 1886. This young man, one of the most prom- 
ising known to the business and social circles of home, had just at- 
tained to his majority, and but a few weeks prior to his loss, had ac- 
cepted the first clerkship of the ill-fated steamer. His death came 
like a cyclone, crushing hearts with a relentless fury that knows 
no limit. Father, mother, sisters, relatives and friends stood 
aghast at the dreadful reality. He was the idol of the household, the 
first born, and his taking away was like the tearing asunder of every 
affectionate chord that makes love doubly pure and sweet. He fought 
manfully for his life, but to no purpose, the cold, cruel waters claimed 
him as its victim, and thus perished a noble, brave, accomplished 
young man entering the zenith of his life. In 1866, Captain Perkins 
purchased the Steamer " News Boy," and ran her in the Henderson 
and Evansville Packet trade for a year or more, when he sold her and 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 751 

purchased the " Mollie Norton." In 1868 he formed a partnership 
with Captain A. O. Durland, of Evansville, under the firm name of 
Durland & Perkins, and a short time afterwards entered into contract 
with the St. Louis & South Eastern Railway Company, for transferring 
their cars between Henderson and Evansville. In 1869, they sold the 
" Mollie Norton " and purchased the towboat " Le Clare " No. 2, and 
two railway barges. During the winter of 1869, the " Le Clare " was 
lost in the ice, and they then purchased the " Belmont." In August, 
1884, this boat was caught in a hurricane at the head of Henderson* 
Island and capsized. An account of this terrible disaster will be found 
elsewhere. They purchased the " Maggie Smith," and she was lost in 
the ice. They then purchased the " Jennie Campbell " and " Iron Cliff." 
The "Cliff" was sold, the " Campbell " is still running. The firm 
built the " La Mascott " for the St. Louis and Cape Girardeau trade, 
and she was lost October 5th, 1886. They then built the " New South," 
a large, handsome and fast boat for the St. Louis &Ohio River trade. 
She is now running between St. Lonis and Paducah, having made her 
first trip July 4th, 1887. The firm is also the owner of the Steamer 
"Frank Stein," running between Evansville and Cannelton, Indiana. 
Captain Perkins, in addition to what has been enumerated, is largely 
interested in several large and paying enterprises, notably, a whole- 
sale drug house in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Withers, Dade & Co., 
Ten Barrel Sour Mash Distillery, and the Henderson Buggy Co., of 
which he is President. In 1883 he built his magnificent residence on 
Green street. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has 
served as Eminent Commander of his Commandery. He is a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian Church. Captain Perkins is a staunch advo- 
cate of morality, a man of fine morals, open-handed benovelence and 
great breadth of charity. He is in the prime of life and the friend and 
patron of every worthy social and business movement ; a man of fine 
physique, commanding respect everywhere, and is one of the few- 
est number of men brainy enough to deport himself in wealth as 
he did in indegent circumstances. Captain Perkins enjoys his wealthy 
honestly gained, in a home surrounded by a happy, loving, bright, in- 
telligent family. 

LUCAS VVILLIAJVl TRAFTON was born in Evansville, April 
9th, 1837, and here his childhood was spent. He was the only son 
of Dr. William Trafton, a noted physician of that early time. Dr. 
Trafton was born near the village of Lewiston, Maine, in the year 
179-, and received the title of M. D. from the Dartmouth Medical 
College, New Hampshire, in 1819, The same year he immigrated to 



752 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Evansville, Indiana, and commenced the practice of medicine. Here 
he continued to practice until his death, in 1847. Dr. Trafton was 
twice married. His last wife was Miss America Butler, of Hender- 
son County, a sister of Harbison Butler, a most affectionate wife, 
mother, and neighbor. By this marriage there was but one child, 
Lucas William, the subject of this sketch. Dr. Trafton died when his 
son was only ten years of age, leaving him and his mother with limited 
means. 

As a child, young Trafton was impressed with the necessity of 
fitting himself for the business of life, and, in boyhood, chose law as a 
profession. At the age of fourteen he was sent to Wabash College, 
Indiana, where he remained two years. His father, prior to his death, 
having determined to have his son learn the German language, sent 
him, when quite young, to a German school, and thus began his 
knowledge of that language and his friendship for that race. At the 
age of sixteen, being at home from college and on a visit to relatives 
in Kentucky, he met with an accident that caused the loss of his left 
arm. He was hunting, and, in raising his gun from the ground to his 
horse, it was accidentally exploded, shattering his left arm near the 
shoulder. The courageous young man seized the bridle reins in his 
teeth, and, holding his wounded arm with his right hand, galloped for 
several miles to his aunt's, Mrs. Annie McClain, where his mother 
was visiting. He was taken from his horse in a fainting condition, 
and Dr. P. Thompson, then a young physician in Henderson, speedily 
summoned. Dr. Thompson amputated the arm. At one time his 
life was despaired of, but he recovered in due course of time. He then 
left school and came to Henderson, where he entered the Clerk's 
office, under William D. Allison, with- whom he remained for nearly 
ten years, at the same time applying himself diligently to the study of 
law. He was one of the very best of clerks, and, as a draughtsman, 
knew no superior. Although deprived of the use of one arm, he was 
nevertheless as expert in handling books and papers as most men 
possessed of both limbs. At the age of twenty-one he commenced 
the practice of law, and, at the age of twenty-two, was elected County 
Judge. 

During the summer of 1862, he joined the Confederate Army, 
and was with General Morgan at his capture, near Buffington Island, 
Ohio, in 1863. He was sent on a prisoner, and, after fourteen 
months' prison life, was exchanged from Fort Delaware. After his 
exchange he received a shot which confined him to his bed for several 
weeks, but such kindly nursing as he received from Mrs. Mary Spald 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 753 

ing, one of the kindest hearted and most cultured ladies of Georgia, 
he recovered and again entered the army and remained to the sur- 
render. Returning home, he again commenced the practice of law. 

Gn the twenty-third day of 'T>Jovember, 1865, he married Miss 
Helen Gibbs. a cultured little lady, who proved her love by her 
devotion to him during his life. Unto them was born one son, whom 
he named for his friend, Mrs. Spalding, of Georgia. Spalding is now 
a clerk in the Farmers' Bank. 

In 1869 Mr. Trafton made the race for the Legislature, opposed 
by Hon. R. T. Glass. The canvass was a terribly heated one, owing 
to the action of both gentlemen in the matter of a public school 
charter before the Kentucky Legislature. Mr. Glass was elected by 
a small majority. In 1871 Mr. Trafton was again a candidate and 
was elected without opposition. While a member of that body, he 
was appointed Chairman of the Committee on County Courts, and 
also one of seventeen to revise the Statutes. He died August 6th, 
1877, leaving a widow and one son. 

Judge Trafton, for a number of years, was associated as partner 
with Hon. H. F. Turner, and it is not flattery to say it was one of the 
strongest and largest patronized firms at the bar. Judge Trafton 
himself was an exceptionable fine lawyer, and man of sound judgment. 
Ever from his boyhood days he was an impressive speaker, command- 
ing attention, not so much on account of his oratory as for his sound 
logic. In social life, he was a favorite, a fine talker and full of humor. 

ROBERT SCROGGIN EASTIN, Master Commissioner of the 
Henderson Circuit Court, is a son of Edward Franklin Eastin and 
Amanda Collins Scroggin. His father was born August 25th, 1806, 
in Bourbon County, Ky., lived in that county until his marriage in 
June, 1833, and soon thereafter removed to Missouri, where he re- 
mained one year. He then returned to Kentucky, and resided in 
Bourbon, Woodford and Harrison Counties, where he engaged in the 
manufacture of bagging and rope till his coming to Henderson County 
in 1846, where he died in 1869. Mrs. Eastin was born in Bourbon 
County January 12th, 1808, and is still living in.,Henderson, aged 
seventy-nine years. Our subject's paternai^' grandfather was Rev. 
Augustin Eastin, a Baptist preacher in Virginia during the latter 
part of the colonial period, and during the Revolutionary War. He 
married the first couple north of the Kentucky River. He was one 
of the preachers who was confined in jail for preaching to the British 
soldiers during the Revolution. He removed to Kentucky in 1784, 

48 



754 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and during the great religious excitement of 1804, became a Univer- 
salist, dving in that faith in 1833, in Bourbon County. The paternal 
o-randfather was General Zachariah Eastin, born in Virginia in 1777, 
January 11th. He was a Colonel in the War of 1812; was at the bat- 
tle of Tippecanoe and River Raisin, and was promoted to Brigadier 
General, which position he held until 1824, when he resigned. The 
following named, who died in Henderson County, were soldiers with 
General Eastin : Captains Bowen, Cox, Negley and John Baskett; 
they all lived near Hebardsville. General Eastin removed to Hen- 
derson County in 1844, and died here in 1852. He was the father 
of Henry J., Robert, Thomas and William A. Eastin, all civil en- 
o-ineers, Henry J. being one of the first engineers in the employ of 
the State auring the days of Internal Improvements. Henry, Thomas 
and William A. located at Spottsville, and erected in 1840, a saw and 
o-rist water mill, using the water power occasioned by the dam, 
across Green River at that point. Our subject's grandmother was 
J^Jancy Durbin, a native of Maryland, She married General Eastin in 
1799, and died in Henderson in 1852. Our subject's maternal great- 
o-randfather Scroggin, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; was a 
native of Delaware, but removed after the war to Maryland. The 
maternal grandfather, Robert Scroggin, was a native of Maryland, 
married in Virginia, Marcissa Mills, and came to Kentucky at an early 
date. He was a Lieutenant in Colonel Richard Johnson's celebrated 
reo^iment of mounted men, that took such a conspicuous part at the 
battle of the Thames, in the War of 1812. He with four men pur- 
sued the British General Proctor, so closely, that the General aban- 
doned his carriage, unloosed one of the horses and escaped on horse- 
back. Lieutenant Scroggin captured the other horse, the General's 
field glass, papers and baggage. Lieutenant Scroggin died in Bour- 
bon County in 1836. Robert Scroggin Eastin, subject of this sketch, 
taught school for a number of years, and has served as County Sur- 
veyor for a number of terms. He is now Master in Chancery of the 
Henderson Circuit Court, and, by the exercise of fine judgment, is 
making an exceptionally good officer. 

PIRANT P. JOHNSON, son of Archibald and Henrietta Wal- 
don Johnson, was born in Botetourt County, Virginia, on the twelfth , 
day of December, 1842. His paternal and maternal ancestors were 
Viro-inians. His parents came to Kentucky in 1854, and settled in 
Henry County. The mother of Mr. Johnson is living in Louisville, 
and is now eighty-one years of age. Our subject was educated almost 
entirely at private schools during his residence in Kentucky. In 1862, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



16B 



at the age of twenty years, he came to Henderson and engaged in 
carpentering, and has continued that profession to the present time. 
By industry and close application he has accumulated a handsome 
little estate. On the thirtieth day of April, 1865, Mr. Johnson mar- 
ried Miss Annie Fowler, and unto them have been born five children, 
four of whom are living, Joseph, James, Stewart and Margaret. 
Harry died October 19th, 1875. His children are all bright and 
promising. Mr. Johnson is serving his third term of two years each, 
as Councilman of the city, and during his entire official life has been 
o-uided bv an honest effort to do his duty, with credit to himself and 
profit to the l^ust imposed. He is a member of the Methodist Church 
and Masonic and Knights of Pythias fraternities. 

HON. JACOB PETER was born at Wachenheim, Palatinate, on 
the River Rhine, May 22d, 1842. In 1854, at the age of twelve years, 
he immigrated to America with his parents and settled in this city. 
His education was limited, yet his quick, discerning mind eagerly 
o-rasped every opportunity to learn, and, as a result, he left school bet- 
ter up in his studies perhaps than very many of those who had super- 
ior advantages afforded them. He learned the English language 
rapidly and soon became as ready in conversation as any of the native 
born. Mr. Peter was of an imperious temperament, more of a leader 
than otherwise, and this, coupled with his most excellent judgment 
and sound information upon all matters of moment, gave to his opin- 
ions an attention worthy of the man and subject. On the seventeenth 
day of November, 1866, he married Miss Louisa Held, eldest daughter 
of Hon. Jacob Held, and unto them were born five sons, William J., 
Carl H., George, Harry D. and Edward W. The two eldest sons, 
William J. and Carl H., are young men of much promise and great as- 
sistance to their widowed mother. The other children the writer is 
not acquainted with, but is informed that they too are quite promising. 
In early life Mr. Peter learned the jeweler's trade with his brother-in- 
law, Jacob Reutlinger, and subsequently became, by purchase, the sole 
owner He built the handsome brick on Main street, and up to the 
day of his death conducted the jewelry business on a large scale. For 
a short time he was enlisted in the Federal service during the war, 
but was never regularly mustered in. Mr. Peter was a devoted Mason, 
and rose to the sublime degree of Knight Templar. He served the 
Blue Lodge and Chapter as presiding officer and in several subordi- 
nate capacities. He served as Councilman in 1873, '74, and as Trustee 
of the Public and High School during the years 1875, '76, '77, '78, 
'79 and '83. He was elected Mayor in 1881, and served one term of 



756 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

two years, and could have been re-elected, but declined the honor. Mr. 
Peter was elected Mayor to succeed Hon. F. M. English, whose reign 
had about paralyzed the city. The race was an exciting one and 
bitterly fougly from end to end. Upon his inauguration Mayor Peter 
delivered an address to the Council worthy of the man. It was full 
of wise, conservative counsel, and, before his term of office expired, 
a very marked change in affairs was peculiarly noticeable. The city 
had regained its former activity, and confidence was fully restored. 
The delinquent list became smaller, and, in fact, every department was 
brio-ht and cheerful. Mr. Peter left the office, having accomplished 
much good and received the plaudits of the people. His health hav- 
ing become impaired, he started to the Arkansas Hot Springs, hoping 
to be benefited, but died enroute, suddenly, on the twenty-ninth day of 
April, 1884. His remains were brought to Henderson and interred in 
Fernwood. Mrs. Peter, a lady of excellent judgment and business 
capacity, still carries on the jewelry business at the old stand on Main 
street, assisted by her two eldest sons. 

PROF. J. MAUPvICE BACH was born near Interlacken, Swit- 
zerland, in the vear 1854, and, when quite young, came to America 
with his parents and settled in Ohio. A writer has said of him : 
" His musical instinct, especially for the piano forte, betrayed itself 
from his early childhood. His parents were ever ready with willing 
hands and open heart to assist him, and immediately secured the best 
obtainable teachers that could be found. His progress at once was so 
marvelous that, at twelve years of age, he assisted at charitable con- 
certs for home institutions, etc. After some years of arduous study 
and a successful provincial concert tour, his young heart yearned for 
a higher plane upon which he could develop his musical powers. He, 
in consequence, returned to Europe, where he entered the Stern Con- 
servatory of Music at Berlin, also receiving private tuition from the 
celebrated teachers, Jean Voght and Ehrlich, thence under the perso- 
nal tuition of Riedel and Reinecke at Leipzig. In 1873, '74, he made 
successful concert tours alone, and also in connection with other com- 
panies, through the southern parts of Germany and his native coun- 
try, Switzerland, receiving general plaudits everywhere. He again 
resumed his studies at Leipzig, but finally came to America, where he 
gave many piano recitals of extraordinary merit, especially in his own 
State. He has on many occasions been associated with concert com- 
panies. Organized the Tiffin Philharmonic Society (vocal), of which 
he was musical director for four years. Of late years his chief success 
has been in the vocation of teaching the art of piano-forte playing. It 




J. M. BACH. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 757 

may be added here that he is an admirable organist and has always 
commanded a good position in that capacity." During the year 1883 
Prof. Bach removed to and settled in Henderson, having accepted the 
position of organist of the Firsf Presbyterian Church. He soon be- 
came identified with the musical interest of the city, and was not long 
in impressing his eminent qualifications as teacher and artist upon the 
lovers of music with whom he came in contact. He here met his life's 
fate in the person of Miss M. Henrietta Stoltz. a lady of the highest 
culture, and rare teacher of vocal and instrumental music, whom he 
married in 1884. Mrs. Bach was educated under Dr. F, Ziegfeld, of 
Chicago and L. A. Phelps; pupil of Garcia, in Paris, and Lamperti? 
Milan, Italy. She has been signally successful in her teaching and 
has shown herself a master of her chosen profession. How happily 
blended those two lives are and what a pleasing co-incident that they 
should have met in Henderson. Truly it can be said of them "Two 
souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one." Prof. 
Bach, since September, 1886, has been Professor and Director of the 
Musical Department of the Henderson Female Seminary, and, by his 
strict attention to duty and rapid development of his pupils, has secured 
a large and remunerative patronage. He is assisted by his wife, and 
the two together are unsurpassed in the art of teaching. 

JOSHUA GUNN STAPLES, son of Joshua Staples andElmira 
J. Jeffries, both of Virginia, was born March 27th, 1840, in Henderson 
County. He received his education from the common schools of the 
county, and, at an early age, entered a printing office to learn the art 
of type-setting. He followed this life with an assiduity of purpose that 
soon brought him ample means for his own support. Several years after- 
wards,he, in connection with A. J. Speidel, purchased the Henderson Re- 
porter and became its publishers and editors for fifteen years. The Re- 
porterw2iS a leading Democratic paper and took a lively and active part 
in all of the political campaigns anterior to and during the war. So Demo- 
cratic was it, that, at one time during the war, its publishers were com. 
pelled to cease publication for a time, but it again blossomed out in the 
fullness of its former glory, and became a power. Mr. Staples was a 
hard-working, painstaking man of business, and, by economy and close 
application to his work, laid up a very snug little bank account. In 
1877 or '78, he sold his interest to William A. Miller, purchased him- 
self a farm, and removed to the country. March, 1866, he married 
Miss Harriet E. Grigsby, by whom he had four children, two of whom 
are living. Mrs. Staples died in 1873. In March 1876, Mr. Staples 
married his second wife, Miss Lizzie Lockett, daughter of David P. 



758 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

and Lucinda Lockett, and unto them have been born five children, 
two of whom are dead. Mrs. Staples is a lady of high character, and 
thoroughly domestic. For twenty-five years Mr. Staples has been 
a member of the Baptist Church, and for perhaps that number of 
years a member of the Masonic Fraternity. He is the owner of one 
hundred and twenty-five acres of the finest Henderson County land, 
and is a remarkably successful farmer. He recently sold his interest 
in the saddlery and harness business in this city, to his]brother-in-law, 
Joseph K. Lockett, and is now devoting himself to his farming inter- 
est and making money. 

JOSEPH CLORE, the subject of this sketch, was born in 
Pewee Valley, Oldham County, Kentucky, on the tenth day of June, 
1806. His parents were both Virginians and came to Kentucky prior 
to or about 1800. They both died in Kentucky, the father in 1814, 
the mother in 1859. Mrs. Clore, mother of our subject, was Miss Mat- 
tie Fields, daughter of Daniel Fields, and was born near Danville, in 
1814, She and Mr. Clore married January 27th, 1830, and have had 
thirteen children, ten of whom are living. Josephine Rebecca married 
Joel Yeager ; Bettie married, first, James E. Ricketts, and, secondly, N. 
S. Glore ; F. Lafayette married Miss Mattie Shirley, Lillie married 
T. E. Fields, J. O. Clore married Miss Emma Pilkington, Anna mar- 
ried Samuel Posey, Donna married Chas. Nosworthy, Ella and W. 
Hall are unmarried. Those M'ho have departed this life are Miller» 
Maggie and Kate. For a number of years Mr. Clore, in addition to 
farming, operated a saw mill at Pewee Valley. In 1856, in partner- 
ship with a Mr. Shrader, he built a large saw mill in Henderson, and 
in the fall of 1857 removed with his family to this place. A short time 
subsequent to his removal, he purchased Mr. Shrader's interest and 
became the sole owner of the mill. A few years after coming to Hen- 
derson, he built his present handsome residence, and has continued to 
reside therein to this day. Mr. Clore, during his entire life in Hen- 
derson, has been an untiring worker, and has carried on his large 
business with less ostentation than most men not half so busily em- 
ployed. He is a remarkably quiet man, and no one outside of his 
immediate family would ever know of what he has done and is doing, 
unless by chance they should see for themselves or engage him at his 
place of business in conversation. He is seldom seen from his mill^ 
and while there, in conjunction with his boys, is more or less engaged 
in pushing his business. For years past he had been a heavy con- 
sumer of logs, and, perhaps, one of the largest handlers of lumber in the 
West. His mill is one of the largest and best, being supplied with 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 759 

the latest and finest machinery. Several years ago he associated with 
himself in the business his three sons, L. F., J. O. and W. H. Clore, 
under the firm name of Joseph Clore & Sons. They have at this time 
seven acres of ground stacked -s'ith valuable lumber. In addition to 
the mill, is a planing mill of large capacity, and capable of doing all 
kinds of wood work. Thus, then, after many years of hard toil the old 
gentleman finds himself the possessor of a handsome fortune, a large 
and paying business and a family of happy children and grandchildren 
surrounding him to comfort his old age. For fifty years Mr. Clore 
has been a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, yet at this 
time, owing to his age and defective hearing, he seldom attends services. 
His faithful help-mate through life is yet living, and is one of the no- 
blest of women, devotedly attached to her home, her children and her 
church. 

JOHN DAVID ROBARDS was born in Henderson County, on 
the second day of November, 1831, on a farm five miles southeast of 
Robards Station. The difficulties attending an education, which the 
early settlers found in that particular section of the county still 
existed, for no schools were to be foun 1 nearer than from five to ten 
miles from the homestead. In the year 1840, a school was established 
at Pleasant Valley, a few miles off, which his sisters attended. Dur- 
ing this time, his father, George Robards, had become the head of a 
large family of children, and was necessarily compelled to exert every 
energy possessed by himself and sons to secure, an annual income suf- 
ficient for their support, and to meet the necessary expenses incident 
to farming and opening up a wild country. Mr. Robards was an in- 
dulgent parent, yet he recognized the necessity of hard work, and 
lamented the situation which surrounded him. He wanted to do for 
his children, but his pecuniary condition, coupled with- the primitive 
and comparative advantageless surroundings, rendered it necessary for 
him to exercise the most rigid self-denials, which he regretted more 
than anyone else. The subject of this sketch was required to work 
in the fields during the spring and summer months, and to handle the 
ax in clearing up new ground in the fall, w'inter and early spring 
months. So determined was he upon acquiring a foresight into the 
primary branches, he studied with his sisters during leisure hours and 
most frequently in the cornfield ; while his horse was resting, he would 
sit down and ponder over his arithmetic, and disputes often arose be- 
tween himself and brothers while ploughing alongside, as to the cor- 
rect solution of some arithmetical sum. and then and there they would 
halt until the difficulty was correctly and satisfactorily determined 



760 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

In this way he became quite proficient in primary, and even interme- 
diate mathematics. His thirst for information grew as he learned, 
and continued to seek knowledge from his sisters, and by his own 
exertions he qualified himself to enter school. At the age of twenty- 
four years, his father gave him a horse, which he sold for one hundred 
dollars, and with this pitiful sum went to Madisonville and entered 
Professor Boring's school, where he applied himself with an earnest- 
ness which soon won the sympathy and favor of his teacher. He had 
but the sum of one hundred and sixty dollars. Professor Boring was 
particularly kind to him, extending to him credit for the tuition and 
other pecuniary credits necessary during the scholastic year. He bent 
every energy, studying day and night, and during the term ot six 
months mastered arithmetic, gained a good understanding of algebra, 
trigonometry, surveying, and English grammar. Returning to his 
home, he soon organized a small neighborhood school, studying him- 
self all the time with more earnestness than any pupil under him, and 
continued teaching and studying until 1856, when he was appointed 
by D. N. Walden, Surveyor of Henderson County, deputy surveyor. 
He continued in office under Walden to the time he resigned in 1859, 
and then served under Charles Dixon, until his death in I860, when 
he was appointed surveyor of the county until an election could be 
held. An election being ordered, Mr. Robards became a candidate 
on the Democratic ticket against Robert S. Eastin, who had announced 
himself a candidate of the opposition party. The election resulted 
in Eastin's being elec!ed. Mr. Robards then gave up official life and 
settled on a farm near Robards' Station. During his deputyship, by 
the exercise of the closest economy, and the keenest foresight in land 
speculation, he amassed a competency sufficient to serve hmi in enter- 
ing into active business. No young man was ever more industrious, 
persevering, studious, or accumulating than was he, and as an evi- 
dence of it, we shall see before this brief biography is concluded. On 
the twenty-first day of June, 1857, Mr. Robards married Mrs. JuHa A. 
Hart, nee Walker, daughter of Alonzo Walker, a highly respected and 
intelligent farmer. She died August, 1883, leaving iwo children, 
Frank Hart and Edwin T. Robards. In 1867, with the same keen 
foresight, he built the first frame store house (in fact the first house 
built), at what is known as Robards' Station. In this building he 
carried on a general merchandising business, selling annually from 
twenty to forty thousand dollars worth of goods. In 1868 he built 
the first tobacco stemmery at Robard Station ; this was a rough and 
hurriedly built affair of small capacity, and built along side of the rail- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 761 

road track. In 1873 he tore down this building and replaced it by 
another, a better and more commodious house, one hundred and twenty 
feet long, by seventy feet wide, three stories high. A co-partnership 
was formed with R. W. Boding" and Dr. N, A. Kitchell, which con- 
tinued up to the year 1878, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. 
This firm did an annual business from fifty to ninety thousand dollars. 
On the eleventh of June, 1874, a hurricane passed over Robards 
Station, leveling to the ground his large fine tobacco stemmery, con- 
taining at the time from one hundred and sixtv to two hundred hogs- 
heads of tobacco. Fortunatelv the tobacco was in loose order and 
very little of it was damaged ; on the contrary, it was secured from the 
debris, rehandled and brought the firm more money, and clear profit, 
than any crop handled during the partnership. The building was 
erected again on the same foundation, and occupied during the same 
year, 1874. In 1872 Mr. Robards moved into the City of Hender- 
son and soon purchased the handsome residence he yet owns on Sec- 
ond Street. In early life he joined the Christian Church, and has ever 
been a conservative, active and working layman. To him and one 
or two others, is due, perhaps, the honor of remodeling, and the com- 
pletion of the beautiful church edifice, which now stands on the 
corner of Green and Washington, a monument to denominational lib- 
erality. In 1882 he was mainly instrumental in the organization of 
the Henderson, Zion and Hebardsville Gravel Road Company, and at 
its organization was elected President, which office he held for some 
time with credit to himself and good to the company. During the 
early part of this year he, assisted by his means in the organization of 
the Planter's National Bank, and at the first election by the stock- 
holders, was made a director. During the fall of 1882, a large tobacco 
stemmery, owned by him, and located on Alvasia Street, near Fern- 
wood Cemetery was burned ; since that time, to-wit : on the twenty- 
second day of January, 1883, he and Dr. N. A. Kitchell filed articles 
of incorporation and organized the Robards-Kitchell Manufacturing 
Company, with a paid up capital of fifteen thousand dollars. On the 
fifth day of February, 1884, Mr. Robards married, in the City of Lou- 
isville. Mrs. Marv Stewart, a ladv of hisfh character and noble chris- 
tian graces. They take life easy in their cozy home, their cup of hap- 
piness being as full as the heart could wish. 

RICHARD DIGMAN was born in the City of Louisville, April 
1st, 1835. After having received a good education for young men of 
that time, and, enjoying the advantages of city life, he entered, as 
apprentice to Milton Calehan, for three years in the stemmery^depart 



762 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ment of a cigar and chewing tobacco manufactory. At the age of 
seventeen, his term of apprentice having expired, he fancied he would 
like the trade of brick mason and placed himself under an artisan 
both competeijt and willing to assist him. It was not long before he 
received journeyman wages, and, in the summer of 1854, came to 
Henderson to assist Mr. Weaver in building Von Kaff's tobacco stem- 
mery in the Town of Cairo. Upon the completion of this factory, he 
returned to Louisville, where he remained until the spring of 1858 
when he again came to Henderson, and, during that year and 1859 
and 1860, alternated between Henderson and Louisville. In 1861 he 
joined the Kentucky State Guards, and, in September of that year, in 
company with the National Blues, went into camp at Glascow, Ken- 
tucky. After camping there three weeks, the company moved to Cave 
City, where, by unanimous consent, it was attached to Colonel Joe 
Lewis' Confederate Regiment. A short time after this, sixty-five or 
seventy men, of which number Mr. Digman was one, representing 
twenty-one different counties, organized what was known as Buckner's 
bodyguard. This company was taken by Buckner to Fort Donelson, 
and, before the surrender, made its escape with General N. B. Forrest. 
It then became a part of General A. S. Johnson's command, and, at 
the battle of Shiloh, acted as escort to General Hardee, and, during 
the engagement, in company with a regiment of Texas Rangers, made 
one of the most desperate charges known to have been made during 
the whole war. This company was composed of the best men of the 
army, and, as an evidence of it, when the company roll was called at 
Shiloh, only one man out of the seventy failed to respond to his name, 
and he because he had no horse. At the evacuation of Corinth, this 
command fell back to Tupello, Mississippi, and was there transferred 
to John Morgan's command ; came into Kentucky as the vanguard 
of Kirby Smith ; fought several battles, and, in the fight at Richmond, 
had the honor of taking in Metcalf's Cavalry, a most magnificently 
mounted and finely equipped body of men. At Lexington they joined 
General Morgan and fell back with him to Knoxville, where they 
reported to Buckner, who had been exchanged, and who gave them an 
honorable discharge from the service, and this was the last of the 
" Buckner Guards." 

After spending a few days with relatives at Wartrace, Tennessee, 
Mr. Digman joined Colonel D. Howard Smith's Regiment, of 
Morgan's (Command, marched through Kentucky, crossed the Ohio 
on the Morgan raid, and was captured by the Home Guards at Ew- 
ington, forty miles beyond Portsmouth, Ohio, He was taken from 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KV. 



763 



there to Camp Morton, and from there to Camp Douglass, Chicago, 
where he remained for eighteen long months. On the tenth day of 
March, 1865, near the close of the war, he was sent on to Richmond 
for exchange, was placed in a p^'ole camp at Amherst Court House, 
and was there at the time of General Lee's surrender. After the sur 
render he walked from there to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he was 
fortunate in getting railroad transportation to Chattanooga and Nash- 
ville. At Nashville he met a company of Louisville Federal soldiers, 
in whose ranks were a number of his old-time friends. They laid 
aside all past differences, received him as of old, dressed him up in an 
elegant suit, furnished him with all the money he wanted, purchased 
a fi'^st-class ticket to Louisville for him and sent him on as a gentle- 
man. He went to work at his trade and remained in Louisville up to 
the fourth day of July, 1«66, when he came to Henderson and settled 

down. . 

On the fourteenth day of July, 1870, Mr. Digman married Miss 
Mollie B. Jeff ries,a very handsome and intelligent young lady,half sister 
of Major J. Shannon and Richard Blackwell, with whom he has lived in 
marital felicity to this day. They have two beautiful daughters to add 
to the brightness and cheerfulness of their happy home, A prouder 
or more noble soul than Dick Digman does not live. His friendship 
is as 'true as his courage, and that characteristic is indisputable. Mr. 
Digman has taken all of the Masonic degrees, including the Knights 

Templar. 

Since the above was written, Mrs. Digman and one daughter 

have departed this life. 

COLONEL ELI AS D. POWELL is the son of Captain Lazarus 
Powell, who removed from North Carolina to Kentucky in 1800, settling 
in a part of Logan, now Simpson County, where he remained two 
years. In 1803 he removed to Henderson County, and at once settled on 
a part of the beautiful farm known as Meadow Hill, one mile this side 
of Smith Mills. The old homestead originally composed one-half of 
Meadow Hill, of five hundred and eleven acres. Captain Powell, in 
addition to this valuable body of land, purchased large tracts contain- 
ing many thousands of acres in the lower part of the county, known 
asValnut Bottom, where he had large negro quarters and great num- 
bers of hogs and cattle. He prided himself upon his fine stock and 
was known to own the best blooded horses in Kentucky at that time. 
Captain Powell married four times and raised a large number of 
children. Governor L. W. Powell being among the oldest; the sub- 
ject of this sketch being the youngest. Colonel Powell was born Feb- 



764 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ruary 1st, 1837, at Meadow Hill. His early education was gained in 
Henderson, and afterwards was a student of St. Joseph's Academy, 
Bardstown, During the year 1855 he attended Transylvania College, 
Lexington, where he studied law in a class with Judge Mike Owsley, 
late a candidate for the office of Governor, and other celebrities. Col. 
Powell, at the death of his father, April, 1869, inherited the old home- 
stead as a portion of his share of the estate, and since that time has 
added to it two hundred and fifty acres of land equally as valuable. 
On the twenty-fourth day of October, 1861, he married Miss Bettie 
Beverly, a great belle of Henderson society and a lady of many social 
graces. The fruits of this marriage is two children, Miss Bessie, a 
bright and handsome daughter, and Beverly, a promising young man. 
At the close of the war Colonel Powell was worried in mind as to how 
he should utilize his large landed estate. He was not willing to give up 
his old home, and still unwilling to wear himself out growing crops 
with the uncertain labor then at the command of the farmer. He first 
put down several hundred acres of Meadow Hill in the grasses, and 
baled hay, grazed, fed and shipped cattle. During this time he con- 
tracted rheumatism to such an alarming extent as to compel him to 
give up that life. 

Colonel Powell had always a great taste for horticulture, and had 
read many very valuable works on that interesting branch, and the more 
he saw and studied the more he became convinced that this climate, 
temperature and condition was eminently suited for successfully cul- 
tivating the leading fruits of the country. He determined to under- 
take it at all hazards, and, in 1869, planted an orchard of the ''Red 
Crab." Every year since he has added to it, as he could arrange his 
land, and as a result he has to-day one hundred acres of land devoted 
to apple trees and interspersed wiih the " Wild Goose Plum," certainly 
one of the finest varieties known to fruit growers. In addition to, 
this, he has endless numbers of pear, peach, apricot and nectarine 
which bear handsomely every year. Colonel Powell can now sit in his 
home, located upon a most beautiful hill of imposing prominence, and 
at one sight take in hundreds of acres of trees freighted with the most 
lucious and taste-tempting fruits known to fruit growers. He is culti. 
vating several hundred pecan trees in what he calls his black flats, 
several hundred black walnut, and as many black locusts, the latter 
of which he intends using for posts. The Colonel, even at this early 
date, has an abundance of pecans and walnuts for his family use, and 
m the course of a few years will gather a sufficiency to supply the 
county. The success attending Colonel Powell's venture has been won- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 765 

derful. In 1882, as a result of his labor, he sold in St. Louis, Chicago, 
Louisville and Cincinnati four hundred barrels of crab cider, fourteen 
hundred barrels of apples and not less than one thousand dollars 
worth of plums. His cider netted him ten dollars per barrel, 
amounting to $4,000; thus the net profits of his crop sold out- 
side of Henderson County, netted him the round sum of six thous- 
and three hundred dollars. Colonel Powell now prides himself upon 
being the owner and the proprietor of the largest, handsomest, and 
finest improved fruit farm in the State of Kentucky. His fruit is 
known in all the markets, and is much sought after. No one is more 
pleased to know the happy and solid condition of the Colonel than 
the writer. He deserves all that he has won. He is a man of noble 
impulses, true as steel, a friend to mankind, and unflinchingly coura- 
geous in all the grand and enobling characteristics of life. 

JAMES HENRY POWELL was born in Henderson County on 
the eighth day of April, 1839, and is the eldest son of Senator Laza- 
rus W. Powell, deceased. Mr. Powell was sent to the best private 
schools of Henderson, and then to the Sayer Institute, at Frankfort, 
where he remained for five years. He was then sent to the Univer- 
sity of Virginia, where he remained three years, and, in 1869, grad- 
uated. Returning to his home, he commenced the study of law in his 
father's office, and very soon thereafter stood a successful examination 
and received a license to practice. On the twenty-first day of Octo- 
ber, 1862, he married Miss Mary Ann Alves, second daughter of 
Robert A. and Mary (Gayle) Alves, a thoroughly domestic and highly 
esteemed lady, and unto them have been born six children — Robert 
A., Lazarus W., Henry J., John Stevenson, Hattie Jennings and Wil- 
liam Gayle. Lazarus W. married two years since Miss Kittie Wal- 
bridge, of Henderson, and they have one child. A few years subse- 
quent to his marriage, the subject of this sketch entered the lecture 
field, at first confining himself to the subject of temperance, and win- 
ning golden opinions wherever he lectured. Subsequently he enlarged 
his field, and added to his repertoire several themes of literary merit, 
as well as others of decided humor. Mr. Powell lectured in a great 
part of the United States and Canada, and received most favorable 
notice from the leading newspapers of both countries. He closed his 
lecture life as agent of the Lee Monument Association, under the 
authority of the Governor of Virginia. Mr, Powell, upon his return 
home, again applied himself to the law. He served two terms as Citv 
Prosecuting Attorney, and was then elected County Attorney, serving 
two terms. In 1880 he was elected Commonwealth Attorney, and, at 



760 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

the end of the term, was re-elected without opposition. Mr. Powell is 
an uncompromising Democrat, and has done his party great service 
in the past. As a stump speaker, he ranks with the best in the State, 
and, as a^successful canvasser, is matchless. He has never known 
defeat, and, notwithstanding the frequent unpopular duties he is 
necessarily compelled to perform as Commonwealth Attorney, he is 
to-day more popular with the masses than when first elected. This is 
all owing to the purity and sincerity of the man. There is no guile 
about him — he is simply a plain, straight forward, out-spokeni^ honest, 
intelligent man and friend, and for that reason his constituency will 
stand by him almost to a man. He is a candidate to succeed the 
present member of Congress from this, the Second District, and I feel 
no hesitancy in predicting his election by a large majority. Mr. Pow- 
ell is both a Mason and Odd Fellow, but has never attached him- 
self to any church. 

JOHN HENRY BARRET, a native of Louisa County, Virginia, 
was born on the fourth day of February, 1818. His father, Peter 
Straghan Barret, and his mother, Matilda (Winston) Barret, were born 
in Louisa County. His paternal grandfather, John Barret, and 
maternal grandfather, Henry Pendleton, were both natives of Vir- 
ginia, and both died and were buried in that State. John H. Barret 
was educated from the country schools of his native county. His 
father was a farmer and required his son to plow furrow by furrow, 
alongside others more muscular than himself, and this he did year in 
and year out. Another innocent amusement afforded him on the farm, 
was that of ox driving, one thing of all others calculated to make a boy 
forget his Sunday school dialect and indulge in the conventional talk 
of the more advanced student of oxology. However, in every calling 
he was at home in energy, thougthfulness and sound judgment. At 
the age of seventeen years, he left his parental home and set out for 
Kentucky to join his brother, Alexander, who had preceded him just 
two years In December, 1835, Mr. Barret landed in Henderson and 
immediately accepted a position in the employ ot his brother, who was 
largely engaged in the purchase and stemming of tobacco and general 
merchandising. Our subject applied himself diligently to the work 
assigned him, and this, coupled with a keen, quick perception of 
matters pertaining to the trade, soon made him a* most valuable 
assistant to his brother. Four years after his arrival in Henderson 
County, to wit : December, 1839, Mr. Barret was joined in marriage 
with Miss Susan D. Rankin, whom the writer loves to remember for 
her even-tempered and affectionate disposition, her strong, good 



^& 







^._A^^.A^ A 



c 



HISTORY OF HENDER^Oisr COUNTY, KY. ?6? 

sense, active benevolence and earnest piety. There are three living 
children, the result of this union, John H., James R. and Susan. 
John H. married Miss Henrietta Offutt, of Shelby County, and has 
two children, Mary and Augusta"; Mary married Dr. James Heddins, 
of St. Joseph, Missouri ; James R. married Miss Lucie Frances Stites, 
and has two children, Henry P. and Susie R. ; Susan married James E. 
Rankin, and has two children, Susie and James Ewing. Shortly after 
marriage, Mr. Barret severed his connection with his brother and 
formed a copartnership with his brother-in-law, James E. Rankin, 
under the firm name of Rankin & Barret, and, with him, continued in 
the dry goods business to 1851, eleven years, when, by mutual consent, 
the firm was dissolved. During the year 1851, Mrs. Barret died, 
leaving a grief stricken husband and three small children. In 1852 Mr. 
Barret accepted a proffered partnership with his elder brother, in the 
tobacco business, and was actively engaged with him to the day of his 
death, in 1861. On the fourteenth day of September, 1852, our subject 
married, at Smithland, Ky., his second wife, Miss Mary Augusta Had 
dock, a most estimable Christian lady,who, during their thirty-six years of 
married life, has proven herself a loving wife, devoted to his comfort and 
happiness. By this marriage, four children were born, three died in 
infancy ; little Mary, the youngest of them all, died at the age of eight 
years, and,- in her death, the sunshine of the household was laid away 
deep in the mists of sorrow that knows no ending. 

Alexainder B. Barret, the elder brother, at his death, left an estate 
aggregating between three and four millions of dollars, the largest 
estate known to the record books of Kentucky. This immense 
property consisted of lands in various parts of the United States, 
stocks, bonds, notes, partnerships, unsettled accounts, and heredita 
ments of every conceivable character. By the terms of his testa- 
mentary will, John H. Barret, our subject, was made executor, and 
the entire estate unreservedly intrusted to his hands without security, 
a monument to his fidelity and high integrity of character that the 
world can never destroy. Seven years were given by the will in which 
to settle this enormous estate. Ten years have been consumed by 
eminent financiers in settling much smaller ones, yet, at the end of 
five years, the estate was settled to the last cent, the hundreds of 
legacies paid off, accounts sCitled, the books balanced and the estate 
divided without a jar. To his quick and clear perception, his 
retentive memory, his sound, unerring judgment, is due this — one 
among the most brilliant and successful financial and business achiev- 
ments known to the business world. 



768 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

The death of Alexander B. Barrett, while it naturally destroyed 
the partnership between himself and his brother,nevertheless did not put 
a stop to the great stemming interest carried on prior to that untimely 
event. The subject of this sketch continued doing business as 
surviving partner, and, as his sons arrived at majority, each one was 
<nven an interest and associated with him — first, John H., Jr., then 
James R., and, upon the marriage of his daughter to James F. Rankin, 
he, too, was associated in the firm, for several years past known as 
John H. Barret & Co. , and composed of John H. Barret, John H. 
Barret, Jr., James R. Barret and James E. Rankin. While our subject 
of late years has withdrawn from active participancy in the details of 
the business, he is, nevertheless, the acknowledged head, and his advice 
and wise counsel is sought and acted upon in all matters affecting the 
partnership. During the building of the Evansville, Henderson & 
Nashville Railroad, Mr. Barret was a member of the Board of 
Directors, and was at all times active in assisting to its early com- 
pletion. The Citv of Henderson subscribed three hundred thousand 
dollars of her bonds to aid in the work, and, by a unanimous vote of 
the City Council, those bonds were directed to be placed in the hands 
of John H. Barret as custodian without security. Thus, it will be seen, 
in what high esteem he was held by the legislative branch of his city. 
The first locomotive — known as the "Pony," and yet in. use in the 
depot yards at Henderson— was purchased by Mr. Barret of the 
Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, and paid for out of his own 
private means. Soon after being appointed custodian of the city's 
bonds, he was directed to dispose of the same by sale, or otherwise, 
and report his acts. He went East, and, although money matters 
were tight at the time, succeeded in negotiating a sale of a number of 
them, while a great number were taken by home capitalists. A press 
of private business required him to relinquish the trust, which he did 
before all of the bonds had been sold. Mr. Barret served as Director 
up to the sale of the road to the Louisville & Nashville Company. 
He manifested, by his works and means, an active interest in the 
orsanization of a National Bank, and, as a result, the First National 
was organized November, 1865, and commenced business January 
1st, 1866, on a capital of one hundred thousand dollars ; increased 
September 20th, 1870, to one hundred and seventy thousand, and on 
July 2d, 1872, to two hundred thousand. He was one of the origina- 
tors of and largest stockholders in the second telegraph line connecting 
Henderson and Evansville. it was mainly through his instrumentality 
that Henderson now claims one of the largest and most complete 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 769 

woollen mills in the West, the largest cotton mill in the State, and 
one of the largest in the South. But for the liberality and far seeino- 
capacity of our subject, the writer verily believes that neither of these 
grand manufacturieswould to-day be standing and operated in Hen- 
derson. Mr. Barret holds fifteen thousand dollars stock in the cotton 
mill and five thousand in the woollen mill. In addition to his very 
large stock and bonded interests, he is the owner of seven hundred 
acres of valuable river bottom lands, lying between the City of Hen- 
derson and the City of Evansville, on the Ohio River ; one thousand 
and thirty-three acres of hill lands, all of which, with the exception of 
his Tom Lockett place, he causes to be cultivated in his own name 
and behalf. He is a large grower of corn, wheat, grass and stock. 
In the Counties of Hopkins and Breckenridge, Kentucky, and in the 
County of Delta, Texas, he is the owner of lands aggregating four 
thousand and eight hundred and fifty acres. A great part of his 
Texas lands he causes to be cultivated in cotton and corn, and, in 
addition, is largely engaged in stock raising. 

Recently, in connection with his sons, under the firm name of 
John H. Barret & Co., he has had erected in the Town of Uniontown, 
Union County, a large and commodious tobacco stemmery, of seven 
hundred hogshead capacity annually, and will this winter at that point 
enter largely into the purchase and handling of tobacco. He is 
largely interested in stemming at Owensboro, having associated with 
himself, John W. Matthews, formerly of Henderson. His stemmery 
at Owensboro is one of the largest in that city, and the firm one among 
the heaviest buyers. Mr. Barret is a very large holder of tobacco in 
European warehouses, and his immense capital and credit gives him 
all the advantages to be gained by holding on a low market when 
very many others are forced to sell. 

In politics Mr. Barret was a Whig during the days of that party, 
but since the war has afhliated with the Democratic party. In relig- 
ious pursuasion he was raised a Christian or Reformer, and, while 
never uniting with the church in membership, he feels a deep and 
abiding interest in its Welfare, and is among its most liberal monied 
supporters. To use a common expression, he is by no means " hide- 
bound ;" contrarily, he gives liberally when solicited to all denomina- 
tions and charities. For very many years he has been a member of 
the Masonic order, but seldom attends the lodge. 

Mr. Barret was never in his life an office seeker, or politician, and 
so far as the writer is informed, was never a candidate for an office. 
He was once elected — and then against his will— to the office of 



49 



770 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

City Councilman from his ward, and, but for the urgent solicitation of 
his friends, would have declined to serve. He did serve, however, 
and. as in all business acts of his life, made a most excellent Council- 
man. Mr. Barret is a man of unflinching rectitude, never swerving 
from what he deems right, either in public or private life, and, while 
not a professed Christian, is yet too good, too true, to pass the golden 
ffates unnoticed. There is no place in his heart for the narrowness of 
bigotry or intolerance ; his genial, attractive qualities forbid it and 
make him friends wherever he may go. He is a man of warm attach- 
ments, giving graciously and unreservedly to all charities and in places 
where the world knows nothing of. He never lets his right hand know 
what his left doeth — all his good works are sacred with himself and 
the recipients of his bounty. When he dies, grateful hearts will weep-, 
while the business world, and Henderson, particularly, will sadly miss 
him. 

WILLIAM SOAPER was born in Loudon County, Virginia, 
April 28th, 1795, and received his education from the ordinary schools 
of that State and Maryland, where he removed some years subsequent 
to his birth. During the year 1820, with limited means, Mr. Soaper 
came West and settled in Henderson. For several years he engaged 
in the saddlery business, frequently traveling through the country, 
but subsequently entered into partnership with Judge Thomas Towles, 
and engaged in the purchase and stemming of tobacco. This partner- 
ship continued for a number of years when, by mutual consent, it was 
dissolved. His business life was one marked by success, and the 
star of fortune clung to him even to the day of his death. His entire 
business life was characterized by an honesty of purpose, and strict 
integrity that won him the confidence of the entire community. While 
he claimed and demanded all that was due him, he held himself ready 
at all times to do unto his neighbor as he would be done by. In 
matters of charity, he was liberal, and his benefactions by no means 
few, or infrequent, were distributed with a cheerful, frank spirit, that 
was characteristic of his noble manhood. Freely and unostentatiously 
he gave of his means, without letting those nearest to him know 
of it. His charity was not for the applause of the world, but was the 
natural flow of a warm and sympathising heart. On the second day 
of November, 1830, ne married Miss Susan Fannie Henderson, Rev. 
Thomas Evans officiating. Miss Henderson was born on the ninth 
day of May, 1813, upon what was, and is yet, known as the Bluff, a 
few miles below the city. Her father, Richard Henderson, was a 
nephew of Richard Henderson, for whom the County and City of 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 771 

Henderson were named. He married in North Carolina on the twenty- 
ixth day of March, 1807, Miss Annie Alves, and came to Henderson 
in 1812. Mrs. Soaper was baptized in infancy by Rev. Daniel Com- 
fort, of the Presbyterian Church, and became a member of the Epis- 
copal Church in 1835, at the age of twenty-two years. During her 
entire church life, she has proven a devoted Christian and fondly at- 
tached to her church. Mr. and Mrs. Soaper have had born unto them 
twelve children, ten of whom are living— Elizabeth, Richard Hender- 
son, Thomas, William, Mariana, Catharine, Harry, Robert, Maria 
and Susan. 

Elizabeth married L. C. Dallam, President of the Henderson 
National Bank, January 17th, 1855. They have five children, Susan, 
Clarence, Charlie, Elizabeth and Sallie ; Susan married Hon. Henry 
C. Burnett, of Paducah, and they have two children, Marie and 
Elizabeth. 

Thomas married Miss Cora Cook, October 23d, 1862; they have 
two children, Elizabeth and Susan. 

Mariana married Stephen K. Sneed, Vice President and 

Cashier of the Henderson National Bank, May 10th, 1871; they have 

six children, Susan, Lucy, Catharine, Mariana, William and Stephen 

William married Miss Sophy Turner, January 17th, 1872 ; they 

have three children, Henry Turner, Susan Soaper and Lucile. 

Robert married Miss Annie E. Pringle, November 18th, 1873 • 
they have four children, Jane, Willie, Annie and Frances. 

Catharine married Malcom Caruthers, of Chicago, October 20th 
1875; they have two children, Elizabeth and Frances. 

Maria married A. M. Gazlay, of Louisville, now of Chicago, Mav 
10th, 1876; they have one child, William Soaper. 

Susan married Hayden M. Young, of Louisville, now of Kansas 
City, Mo., January 29th, 1884; they have no children. 
Richard H. and Harry are unmarried. 

Mr." William Soaper, subject of this sketch, after having lived a 
most successful business life, died January 3d, 1881, leaving a very 
large estate. Mr. Soaper was for many years an active Mason, being 
a member of the Blue Lodge and Chapter. Although for many years 
a regular attendant upon church worship, he was never a member. 

RICHARD. HENDERSON SOAPER, named for his maternal 
grandfather, Richard Henderson, who was a nephew of Richard Hen- 
derson, President of the Henderson Grant Company, was born in 
Henderson County on the seventh day of February, 1836, and is the 
eldest son of William Soaper and Susan Fannie Henderson. He was 



772 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

educated from the very best private schools of Henderson, Shelby 
College, Shelbyville, Ky., and, during the years 1854 and '55, was a 
student at Kenyon College, Ohio. No means were spared by his 
father to "-ive him a first-class collegiate education. Upon his return 
from colle^^e, Mr. Soaper was given a position in his father's tobjicco 
stemmery, and, in the course of a few years, mastered the art of hand- 
ling the weed and was 2:iven a partnership. This partnership contin- 
ued up to his father's death in 1881. Since that time, in connection 
with his brother, the stemming business has been carried on as before. 
In 1868 Mr. Soaper caused to be built in the town of Uniontown» 
Union County, a handsome, finely arranged tobacco stemmery with a 
capacity of handling five hundred hogsheads annually. This, with his 
Henderson house, he has operated year by year, buying, receiving and 
shipping large quantities of the staple of this section of the country. 
In addition to his large tobacco interest in this country and Europe, 
he is the owner of four hundred and eighty-eight acres of the best 
river bottom land of Henderson County, land noted for its great pro- 
ductiveness of both corn and tobacco. His annual crops are large, 
and so well systematized are all of his farming plans, that nothing 
but an overflow or unprecedented drouth can keep him from reaping 
a handsome income year after year. 

William Soaper, the father of the subject of this sketch, died 
possessed of a large and varied estate, and, upon his death, our sub- 
ject qualified as executor of the will. The will included lands, houses 
and lots, monies, bonds, stocks, and other posessions, to be divided 
amono- nine devisees. The difficulty of the undertaking can be seen 
at a ^lance, yet Mr. Soaper settled this great estate without a murniur 
from anyone, and strange to say without a lawsuit. This, then, goes 
to show that he is notably one of the most successful business men of 
the times. His career has been characterized by great energy, pru- 
dence and liberality, controlled by a superior judgment and marked 
throughout by undoubted integrity. Mr. Soaper has traveled over the 
principal part of the United States and Canada, and, during the sum- 
mer of 1865, spent his time in Europe on business and sight-seeing. 
He loves his friends, has a big warm heart, enjoys social life to 
its highest degree, but has never married. There isn't a time- 
keeper in the city that is more regular in telling the hours, than he 
is in his habits. Thoroughly domestic, he varies perhaps not ex- 
ceeding five minutes in an entire week, in passing to and from 
his office to his boarding house. He is strictly a business man 
and a remarkably successful one. Mr. Soaper was raised a Whig, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY 77% 

and since the downfall of that party, has never recognized the 
claims of any particular political organization. In religious faith he 
was raised an Episcopalian, but seldom attends any church. He has 
no fancy for office, holding, aTid wouldn't accept one if tendered 
him by the unanimous voice of the pejple. He was never a member 
of any lodge, he dispenses his charities with his own liberal hand, but 
unostentatiously, telling no one, but keeping his good works sacredly 
to himself. No better man than Richard Henderson Soaper lives. 

THOMAS SOAFER is the second son of William Soaper and 
Susan Fannie Henderson, and was born on the twentieth day of Jan- 
uary, 1838. As in the case of his elder brother, he was given every ad- 
vantage of an education that wealth could afford. He was sent to the 
best private schools, and, in 1854 and a part of 1855, was a student 
at Kenyon College, Ohio. In 1855 he entered Hanover College, 
Indiana, and remained there throughout 1856. Shortly after his re- 
turn home from college, he entered the dry goods store of L. C. Dal- 
lam, and, in the year 1859, purchased an interest, became a partner, 
and engaged in business under the old and well-known firm name of 
Dallam & Soaper, the senior member being his brother-in-law, Mr. L. 
C. Dallam. On the twenty-third day of October, 1862, Mr. Soaper 
married Miss Cora Cook, daughter of Dr. John B. Cook, founder of 
the Henderson and McDowell Medical Societies. Unto them two chil- 
dren have been born, Bettie Cook and Sudie Henderson, two charm- 
ing: voun 2: ladies' and universal society favorites Mrs. Soaper is a 
lady of many fascinating domestic and social qualities, and a devoted 
help-mate to her husband. At the beginning of 1875, after a pleasant 
and lucrative partnership of sixteen years, Mr. Soaper purchased the 
interest of his partner, Mr. L. C. Dallam, and, from that time to this, 
the business of the old house has been conducted under the name of 
Thomas Soaper. 

Our subject has been one ot Henderson's most successful mer- 
chants, from the fact he never jests, never exaggerates, always sincere 
and honest, and whatever his convictions in any line of life, he carries 
them out without reference to the world. On no' serious subject has 
he anv half-formed notions. In his friendship, he is exceedingly warm, 
yet not demonstrative ; in domestic relations, gentle and tender, a 
genial companion, a devoted father and husband. He grew up in the 
Episcopal Church faith, and, in 1860, was confirmed by the Bishop. 
For thirty years he has been a member of the church vestry, has served 
as Treasurer for a number of years, has served as Junior and Senior 



774 ' HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Warden and is the Senior Warden of the church at this writing. He 
has represented his church a number of times in the General Conven- 
tion of the Diocese, and, throughout his entire church life, has been 
one of the foremost in all matters of interest to the congregation and 
parish. For many years he filled the position of Superintendent of the 
Sunday School. In 1879 he was elected President of the Henderson 
Minino- and Manufacturing Company, and has continued as such to 
this dav. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Henderson 
National Bank, one of the strongest monied institutions in the city. 
He is a member of the Masonic order, and in politics a Democrat. In 
addition to his large interest in the city, including a handsome resi- 
dence he is the owner of one hundred and ninety-one acres of the 
finest Henderson County river bottom lands, which he operates 
throuo-h employes under the direction of a competent superintendent 
or overseer. His crops are usually good and bring him a handsome in- 
come. 

WILLIAM SOAPER, JR. — The subjectof this sketch, who bears 
the honored name of his father, is the third son of William Soaper 
and Susan Fannie Henderson, and, as in the case of his elder broth- 
ers, was given a collegiate education. He received his early training 
at the best schools of Henderson, and entered Union College, Schen- 
ectady, New York, where he would have graduated in 1864, but for 
the interference of the War of the Rebellion. William Soaper was born 
in Henderson County, on the tenth day of April, 1843, and in his form 
and build is the exact counterpart of his father, when at his age in 
life. Returning home from college Mr. Soaper engaged himself with 
his father and brother Richard, in the tobacco stemming business, ap- 
plying himself with an earnestness, that in a few years placed him in 
the front rank of stemming men. He was given an interest in the 
business, and since his father's death has been associated in the same 
line with his brother Richard. On the seventeenth day of January, 
1872, he was married to Miss Sophy Turner, a highly accomplished 
daughter of Judge Henry F. Turner, of Henderson. As a result of 
that union, three children were born, Henry Turner, Susan Soaper, 
Lucile, all bright, promising children. Never a cloud of pain or sor- 
row hovered over his happy household, until October 21st, 1883, when 
the angel of death laid his cold hands upon the devoted wife, and car- 
ried her away to Heaven, leaving a disconsolate husband and children. 

In 1883 Mr. Soaper manifested an active interest in the organ- 
ization of the gravel road companies of this county, and to show his 
faith, subscribed liberally to the stock of the Henderson andZion, and 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 775 

Corydon and Geneva«companies. He has served a term as President 
of the Henderson, Corydon and Geneva Company, and is now Pres- 
ident of the Henderson and Zion Company. For several years he was 
a member of the Board of Directors of the Henderson Fair Company, 
and the writer can say that no officer of the association was more ac- 
tive, faithful and deeply interested in the work before him. He is a 
member of the Masonic order in high standing, having presided as 
Master, High Priest and Eminent Commander, and had he urged him- 
self as many have done, he would have presided before this over the 
Grand Lodge of the State. Mr. Soaper is a half-owner of the Hender- 
son Hominy Mill, one of the largest manufactories of hominy, gritz 
&c., in the West, and is doing a daily business commensurate with its 
great capacity and yet unable to supply all of its orders. His partner, 
W. W. Shelby, manages the mill while he gives the bulk of his 
time to his tobacco interest. In addition to what we have mentioned, 
our subject is the own r of a magnificent Henderson County river bot- 
tom farm of two hundred and forty acres, growing annually thousands 
of bushels of corn. 

Mr. Soaper, in political faith, was raised a Whig, but since the war 
has affiliated with the Democratic party. He was never an office 
holder and never a candidate for one. In church doctrine, he is an 
Episcopalian, and for twenty-five years has served his church as ves- 
tryman. For several years he has he^d the office of Treasurer of the 
church, and so well has he performed the duties of the office, the ves- 
try refuse to give him up by re-electing him annually. To find a man 
of indomitable will and unquestioned courage, sincere in his convic- 
tions, a warm and generous friend of the noblest impulses, of the high 
est business character, is to 1 ly your eye and hand upon William 
Soaper. 

HARRY SOAPER, the fourth son of William Soaper and 
Susan Fannie Henderson, was born in Henderson County on the 
seventh day of August, 1844, and educated from the best schools of 
the town and county, and the University of Toronto, Canada, where 
he would have graduated but for the effects of the war. In 1867, 
after his return from college, he took charge of his brother Richard's 
tobacco stemmery at Uniontown, and lived there during the stemming 
se:ison of each year up to 1881, the year of his father's death. Since 
that time he has had charge of the home farm (where all of the chil- 
dren were born), near the city. He still retains one-fourth interest in 
the stemming business at Uniontown, In addition to his interest at 



776 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KV. 

that place, and the home farm, he operates his l«wer bend place, con- 
sisting of one hundred and seventy-five acres of magnificent 
Henderson County river bottom land. All of this bottom land is 
alluvial, and, therefore, highly productive. As is the case with his 
brothers, of whom we have written, he is a most successful business 
man, and satisfactorily requires every turn to count in his interest. 
He has given a great deal of attention to the raising of fine stock, 
and, to that end, and to better provide food for winter feeding, he 
thoroughly investigated the Silo system, as adopted by cattle raisers 
in many States of the country, and is, perhaps, the first farmer in 
Kentucky to introduce one into this State. At a large expense he 
has caused one to be built at the home farm, and is highly pleased 
with it. This, then, goes to show that our subject is a wide awake 
farmer, looking ahead, keeping ahead. He is not the kind to await the 
coming of events, but he thinks for himself, and his plans are alwavs 
intelligently founded, and, most generally, result as he would have 
them. "^■' 

Mr. Soaper has never married; there is very little poetry about 
him. He is rather a recluse, inclined more to enjoy a quiet, bachelor 
life, than hugging to his booom what he regards a fancied vision. 

It may be said of him, however, that he is not selfish — on the 
contrary, there is no one more open hearted. He is fond of society 
but his natural diffidence is constantly speaking to him, and he 
continually listening to it. He is a man of benevolence, devoting 
a portion of his ample means to every good cause presenting itself 
in the community. He makes no display of his good deeds, is large 
hearted, exceedingly open and frank in all of his dealings and stands 
deservedly high as a gentleman and business man. Mr. Soaper was 
raised in the Episcopal Church faith, but has never connected himself 
with the church. He never believed in secret societies, therefore has 
never joined a lodge or secret order of any character whatever. He 
was raised a Whig. At this time he claims to belong to no party, 
but the prerogative to vote when and as he pleases. 

JOHN D. ANDERSON was born in Virginia and came to Hen- 
derson in very early times. His father, Turner Anderso.n, and his 
wife, Susan Roan Daniel, were both natives of Louisa County, Vi^-- 
ginia. Turner Anderson had two sisters, one of whom married Wm. 
H. Crawford, of Georgia, and was burned in a theater. Mr. and 
Mrs. Anderson immigrated to Kentucky in the year 1805, bringing 
with thern their six children, Nathan, Nelson, Sus'^n, Nathaniel, John, 



kiSTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 777 

i 

Mary and Weston, A paper Mr. Anderson brought with him, and 
one in which he took great pride, was a certificate from Day Lodge, 
No. 58, Masonic, certifying to his having been elected and installed 
Master of that Lodge. Among^the members of Day Lodge were 
George Washington, Lafayette and Rev. R. S. Barrett, lately of Hen- 
derspn ; Nathan Anderson married Miss Milly Bell, and had two chil- 
dren, Richard and Susan ; Richard married Miss Kara Alexander, an 
aunt of Dr. J. B. Alexander, formerly of this city. They had six chil- 
dren. Dr. Turner Anderson, a distinguished physician, now of Louis- 
ville, being one of them. 

Susan Anderson was the second wife of Dr. Adam Rankin, of 
Henderson, and the grandmother of John H., James R. Barret and 
Samuel, J. Ed., Alex and Wardlow Rankin. Nathaniel Spottswood 
Anderson was killed in a duel on the twenty-third day of May, 1806, 
bv Thomas Yateman, at Nashville, Tenn. John D. Anderson, the 
subject of this sketch, married on the ninth day of May, 1833, Miss 
Tabitha C. Marshall, and unto them was born only one child, Susan 
Daniel, who married February 12th, 1854, Walter A. Towles, son of 
Judge Thomas Towles. They have had seven children, Elizabeth 
Alves, Sue Starling, Walter Alves, Thomas, Lillia, Marie Lucie and 
Therrit Rankin. Weston Anderson married Miss Christy, and unto 
them were born two children, the late Mrs. Peter D. Green, of Union 
County, and the late Weston Anderson, of Henderson. Mary Ander- 
son first married Miller Flemming. of Glasgow, Scotland, who, together 
with his brother-in-law, the subject of this sketch, exported cotton to 
his native place ; they had one child, the late Mrs. Mary F. Alves, 
wife of Walter Alves. John D. Anderson was a man of fine business 
character, and accumulated a handsome estate. He was one of the 
first Directors of the Farmers' Bank, one of the organizers of the 
Episcopal Church, and instrumental in many other worthy enterprises. 
He was universally popular, and his opinion upon all matters of busi- 
ness ■ much sought after, He was, for many years prior to his death, 
a member of the Masonic fraternity. 

DR. JOHN N. DORSEY was born in Jefferson County, Ken- 
tucky, on the thirty-first day of December, 1811, and, at the age of 
seven years, came with his father, Noah Dorsey, to Henderson Coun- 
ty, and settled on what is known as the Strong Water farm, then 
owned by General Samuel Hopkins. Three months after he removed 
three miles beloW the present site of Corydon, and there remained 
until he arrived at the age of thirteen or fourteen. He then returned 
to Jefferson County and was there educated. In 1834 he went to 



778 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Hardin County and did business for an uncle, at the same time apply- 
ing his leisure moments to the study of medicine. Not long after this 
he graduated from the Louisville Medical Institute, and went to West 
Point to practice his profession. The Doctor tarried but a short time 
at West Point, and then removed to Daviess County, where he resided 
for seven years. He then came to Henderson and located at Corydon, 
where he has continued to reside to the present time. In the month 
of April, 1841, in Daviess County, Doctor Dorsey married Miss Patsy 
R. Atcherson, and unto them seven children were born, five of whom 
are now living, Bettie, Belle, Emma, Anna and John L. Bettie mar- 
ried Dr. J. N. Powell; Belle married Dr. Wesley Powell; Emma mar- 
ried Walter Cannon, proprietor of the Barret House, Henderson, and 
John L. married Miss Nannie Dixon. John L. Dorsey, the only son, 
represented his countv one term in the Kentucky Legislature; is now 
Council Advisor of the city, a prominent Knight of Pythias and Odd 
Fellow, and a leading attorney at the bar. Dr. Dorsey was the first 
Postmaster at Corydon, and his wife had the honor of giving the office 
and village its name. He built, in 1848, the first house, a log cabin; 
also, in connection with his brother, established the first store at the 
place. The territory that the Doctor then practiced over has now 
fourteen or fifteen physicians, and all of them claiming a liberal prac- 
tice. Dr. Dorsey's first wife having died many years ago, he again 
married, selecting for his second wife Mrs. Isabella Phillips, of this 
county. He is in comfortable circumstances, and takes life easy in 
his old age, greatly beloved by all who know him. . 

WILLIAM W. BLACKWELL was born in Henderson on the 
fifth day of April, 1849, and was educated at the best private schools 
in the town. In early life he engaged, with his father, in merchandis- 
ing, and soon displayed remarkable business capacity. There are few 
men his superior in business intelligence and far seeing judgment, 
Several years ago he was given a partnership with his father in the 
hardwa.re business, and the success of the firm testifies to his eminent 
qualifications as a cool, clear headed, calculating man. ^ 

Shortly after the institution of Ivy Lodge, No. 21, Knights of 
Pythias, in 1873, Mr. Blackwell became a member, and, from his 
initiation, evinced a great interest in the order. By a close study of 
its laws and mystic aims,he soon became one of the best posted members 
and his opinion was regarded as reliable upon all matters concerning 
the order. As an evidence how studiously he applied himself, he first 
entered the Grand Lodge as a Representative of Ivy Lodge (after 
having presided in his own lodge) in September, 1877, at its session 




W. W. BLACKWELIi, P. G. C. 

Supreme Representative of Kentucky.. Henderson Ky. 
Ivy Lodge, No. 21 K. of P. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 779 

held in the City of Covington, ^nd was, by that body, elected Grand 
Master of Exchequer for the term following. At the session of 
the Grand Lodsre. held in Lexinsfton in 1878. he was advanced to the 
position of Grand Vice Chancellor on the first ballot over five com- 
petitors. At the session held in Henderson, September, 1879, he was 
unanimously chosen Grand Chancellor of the State for the term 
following. At the September session, 1880, at Louisville, he received 
the honorable rank of Past Grand Chancellor for services rendered as 
Grand Chancellor. At the session of 1881, held at Maysville, he was 
elected Supreme Representative for four years, from January lst> 

1881, to December 31st, 1885, to represent the Grand Lodge of Ken- 
tucky in the Supreme Lodge of the world. Since that time this commis- 
sion has been extended six year's election, to 1889. He represented Ken- 
tucky at the Supreme meeting, held at Detroit, Michigan, in August, 

1882, and there received the Supreme Lodge Degree, the highest 
honor in the order. He also represented the Grand Lodge at the 
Supreme meeting held in New Orleans in April, 1884, and at Toronto, 
Canada, in July, 1886, and will, nothing preventing, represent Ken- 
tucky a*t the Supreme meeting to be held in Cincinnati, in 1888. Mr. 
Blackwell is the youngest Knight who has ever passed the executive 
chair of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, being only thirty years of age 
when elected Grand Chancellor. He is the only Supreme Represen- 
tative ever elected south of the Ohio River. As another evidence of 
his worth, he was presented, at the session of 1880, held in Louisville, 
with a handsomely engrossed resolution of thanks for services 
rendered as Grand Chancellor. This was done by a unanimous vote, 
and is the first and only time the honor has ever been paid a Grand 
Chancellor. Mr. Blackwell is a member of the Supreme Lodge 
Finance Committee, composed of five members, and ranks second in 
the list. He has twice visited Washington City for the purpose of 
auditing the books of the Endowment Rank. By authority of the 
Supreme Chancellor of the world, Howard Douglass, on the twenty- 
fourth day of December, 1886, Mr. Blackwell was appointed aide-de- 
camp with the rank of Colonel, on the staff of Major General James 
R Carnahan, Commander in Chief of the Uniform Rank, the grand- 
est body of disciplined soldiers in the world. There are now over 
five hundred divisions, forty thousand Knights in uniform. It is pre- 
dicted the grand pageant in Cincinnati, in 1888, will surpass any dis- 
play of military, ever witnessed on this Continent. Mr. Blackwell 
has just completed the compilation of the revised Constitutions of the 
Grand and Subordinate Lodges, a duty assigned him by the Grand 



780 HISTORY OK HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Lodge. His report is a masterly onQ and has been attended by a 
multitude of perplexing surroundings. In honor of his distinguished 
services as a Knight, and high character as a man, on Friday evening, 
September 9th, 1887, at Marion Ky., Black well Lodge, No. 57, was 
instituted, named in his honor, and composed of the best men of the 
town and surrounding country. As a speaker, Mr. Blackwell has 
few superiors, and upon several occasi(5ns, has won the plaudits of 
his fellow Sir Knights, by his sound reasoning, interspersed by wit and 
humor. The time is not far distant, when he will be exalted to the 
distinguished position of Supreme Chancellor of the world, a position 
he is so eminently qualified and fitted for. On Tuesday, October 5th, 
1869, at the residence of his wife's parents, in Evansville Indiana, 
Mr. Blackwell married Miss Marcia A. Stinson, and unto them has 
been born one son, Ernest, a bright young man, a chip of the old blocks 
As Gas Commissioner, Mr. Blackwell has served the city with sat- 
isfaction. • He is a leading Odd Fellow. On the twenty-fourth day of 
September, 1887, Mr. Blackwell was tendered the Supreme Secreta- 
ryship of the Endowment Rank, K. of P., at a salary of $3,000, but 
declined it. 

GREEN W. PRITCHETT. tobacconist, strip and leaf dealer, 
was born near Corydon, in the year 1842. His father, Pressley 
Pritchett, was one of the early settlers of that part of the county, and 
was a farmer of influence, and held the office of Constable under the 
old Constitution. His mother, Annie Powell, was a woman noted 
for her fine sense and domestic character. Both father and mother 
died, aged about forty-seven years. Green W. was educated at 
Princeton Academy, Princeton, Indiana, and returned to Corydon and 
engaged in merchandising. In 1869 he married Miss Belle Powell, 
a lady of high character, and greatly respected for her social and do- 
mestic qualities. They have three children, two girls and one boy. Mr. 
Pritchett has served his district as Magistrate several terms, and has 
also served as Trustee of the town of Corydon and of the Public 
Schools at that place. In each mstance he has brought to bear a 
conservative sound judgment, that has ever been characteristic of 
the man, and has placed him foremost among the men of intelligence 
in his county. During his life he has evidenced a decided interest 
in all matters of public moment, and has been mainly instrumental 
in organizing several enterprises of value to the county, notably, the 
Corydon Coal and Mining Company, Corydon Public Schools, Hen- 
derson and Corydon Gravel Road Company, the Henderson Weekly 
Journal, in all of which he has served as Trustee andJDirector. In 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. ?8i 

politics he is a Democrat, thoroughly posted and influential. He is a 
heavy purchaser of tobacco, which he prepares for the European mar- 
ket. He has been a successful man of business, and all of this is ow- 
ing to an intelligence he brings fo bear, gained from close reading and 
observation. As a writer, Mr. Pritchett knows few superiors. He 
wields a graceful, and when he chooses, a caustic pen. 

DR. H. H. FARMER, was born in Lunenburg County, Virginia, 
in 1825, and immigrated with his father to Kentucky, Henderson 
County, in the autumn of 1829. In 1833 his father was accidentally 
shot, and two years thereafter young Farmer returned to his relations 
in Virginia, where he remained until 1846, but always claiming Hen- 
derson County as his home. He was educated mostly in Virginia 
and graduated in medicine, at the Jefferson Medical College in 1846. 
In June of that year he commenced the practice of his profession in 
Henderson County, but, three, years after, abandoned it for the more 
pleasing life of a farmer. Dr. Parmer has served his countv as 
a Magistrate, Assessor and County School Commissioner, in all of 
which positions his eminent fitness won him the plaudits of his people. 
From early manhood he was a Democrat in politics. In 1860 he was 
a warm Southern sympathiser, but opposed secession which he believed 
would end in nothing short of disaster to the Southern people. He 
took no part in the war, but remained with his family at his quiet, 
happy home in the county. Dr. Farmer cast his lot with the Demo- 
cratic party until about 1881, when he gave up, in a great measure, 
politics, and does not now claim to belong to any political organiza- 
tion. In 184'3 he joined the Baptist Church, and has, from that time 
to this, proven himself an active, consistent, working member. 

JUDGE THOMAS TOWLES was born in Spottsylvania County, 
Virginia, on June 1st, 1784. His father, Stokeley Towles, was born 
in Lancaster, Virginia, February 21st, 1750, and died May, 23d, 1800. 
His mother, Mary Smith, w^as born September 8th. 1755, and died 
May 6th, 1813. Judge Towles immigrated to Henderson County in 
1805, and resided here to the date of his death, December 12th, 1850. 
He first married Miss Hopkins, daughter of General Samuel Hopkins, 
in 1809. She died, leaving one son, Thomas, Jr., who was known as 
the brightest mind ever born in the county — a lawyer of wonderful 
memory and marked ability. Judge Towles then married Elizabeth 
Alves, daughter of Walter Alves, one of the signers of the Henderson 
Grant, and Amelia Johnston, whose father was William Johnston, one 
of the Richard Henderson & Co., to whom the grant was made. Mrs. 



782 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Towles survived her husband two years, she dying June 28th, 1852. 
By his last marriage there were three children. Dr. John J. Towles, 
Mrs. Bettie T. Barret and Walter A. Towles, all married and have 
children. Judge Towles was a lawyer of large practice, and held the 
unrestrained confidence of the people of his town and county. He 
was the head and front of every enterprise, and no man gave more 
liberally of his time and means. On the sixteenth day of January, 
1816, he was commissioned by President Madison, one of the judges 
for the territory of Illinois. Much history associated with his life will 
be found elsewhere in this volume. He was a warm, personal friend 
of the renowned John J. Audubon. 

J. W. PORTER was born in Donegal, Ireland, in the year 1835. 
In his young manhood, Mr. Porter immigrated to America, and for 
quite a number of years followed peddling on foot for a living. He 
traveled mostly throughout the Southern States, and dealt largely in 
such goods as Irish linens, embroideries and silks. After his first 
year's experience in thus merchandising, he employed seven or eight 
men and kept them constantly on the road. At the outbreaking of 
the War of the Rebellion, he was at Holly Springs, Mississippi, where 
he lost some fifteen hundred do lars worth of goods. He then started 
across the plains, and, arriving at Hot Springs Arkansas, sold his en- 
tire stock to the men then in his employ. During the year 1855, Mr. 
Porter visited I'odd County, Kentucky, and while sleeping in the 
second story of a country house, a terrible tornado swept over that 
part of the county, demolishing the building in which he was sleeping. 
Strange, as it may seem, his vest was torn half in two, and he blown 
one hundred yards, to find himself unhurt. In 1853 he first came to 
Henderson County, and, in 1858, purchased of James Bottoms, tw^o 
hundred acres of land lying in the Niagara Precinct, for which he paid 
fifteen hundred dollars in gold, cash down. He returned to New York, 
and there opened a grocery house, but owing to his strong Democratic 
proclivities, was unsuccessful and returned to Henderson and settled 
upon the land bought of Bottom. In 1867 he purchased of George 
S. Morris ten acres of land, and built his present residence. In 1870 
he built his tobacco stemmery, and engaged in merchandising and the 
stemming of tobacco, in which business he is yet engaged. His busi 
ness life has proven successful, and, by industry and prudence, Mr. 
Porter enjoys a handsome estate. He has been three times married, 
first, to Miss McLaughlin, of New York; then to Miss Nunn, daughter 
of Hugh Nunn, of Henderson County, and lastly, to Mrs. Triplett, 
widow of Robert Triplett. He is the father of eight children, four of 
whom are living. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 



788 



R. W. AGNEW was born in Henderson County, in the year 
1836. Robert Agnew, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was 
born on Rock Creek, waters of the Alamance, Guilford County, North 
Carolina, on .the sixth day of Mty, 1776. His father. Doctor Robert 
Agnew, was born in County Down, Ireland, on January 31st, 1734. 
He married Euphenia Shaw in the year 1763, and immigrated to 
America in the year 1771, and settled in Guilford County, where he 
died October '18th, 1793. Robert Agnew was the fifth child, and his 
mother died when he was not six months old. He was then given to 
Ann Shaw, of Christian County, Kentucky, his mother's first cousin, 
who cared for him until her death, three years afterwards. His father 
having married his second wife, young Robert was taken back to 
Norch Carolina, where he lived with his step-mother, a most estimable 
woman, until arriving at nineteen years of age. He then went to his sis- 
ter Sally, in Sumner County, Tennessee. This trip was over five hun- 
dred miles through the wilderness, inhabited by Indians and wild 
animals, and seven days of the journey young Agnew was alone. He 
remained a year or more in Sumner County, and then returned to his 
native home in North Carolina, where he attended school for a short 
time. Being of a restless disposition, he determined to go back to 
Tennessee, so on the twenty-second day of December, 1796, in ex- 
treme cold weather, he set out on his second journey, and on the 
twentieth day of January, 1797, arrived at his sister's in Sumner 
County. He was still unsatisfied, he wanted to see more of the coun- 
try ; therefore, in company with two friends, on the twenty-eighth day 
of January, 1797, he came to Henderson County, and being well 
pleased, determined to settle here. He returned to Tennessee, and the 
following is taken from a diary kept by himself : " Returning to Ten 
nessee, I thought I would quit my rambles and settle myself. So it 
happened that on the first day of June I married Elizabeth White Har- 
din, of Robertson County. We then concluded to come and live in 
this country, my wife having a sister living here that was married to 
Jacob Landers, a pioneer. On Tuesday November 21st, 1797, we 
arrived in Henderson County, having brought but a small share of 
property with us. It consisted of two horses, two cows and one calf, 
two sheep, one bed, etc., and one flax wheel and other small articles 
to commence worl^ with, but without one cent of money or provisions. 
However, we went to work, and have never suffered to this time, 1839, 
for the necessaries of life. Before two years had roll'd away our 
horses were all dead of the ' Yellow Water,' which prevailed in the 
world at that time ; our sheep were all gone, but our cows did well." 



i84 History of hfnderson county, ky. 

Robert Agnevv raised eleven children, seven males and four fe- 
males. The males were : John married Miss Asbby, of Hopkins 
County ; Wiley married Miss Armstrong ; Andrew married Elizabeth 
Walker; Whitfield married Elizabeth H. Nunn, all of Henderson 
County. The father of our subject was Whitefield Agnew, who died 
in 1845, at the age of thirty-seven years, leaving his son, R W. Ag- 
new, a youth of nine years, with his mother and five sisters dependent 
upon their own exertions for a livelihood. His early privations pre- 
vented his education, yet he applied himself at leisure times, and by 
this means gained a knowledge that has proved of incalculable benefit 
to him. At the age of twenty-five years, Mr. Agnew married Mrs. M. 
J. Tillotson, widow of Marshall Tillotson, and daughter of John and 
Nancy Reeder, and unto them have been born five children, Robert 
L,, Dora, Edna E., and William W. all living. By his industrv and 
economy, Mr. Agnew has accumulated a snug little estate, and al- 
though a hard worker, enjoys his pleasures. In politics he is a strong 
Democrat and worker, whose influence is felt in times of excited elec- 
tions. He and his entire family are members of the Baptist Church. 
Dr. R. L. Agnew, a promising physician of Sebree, is his eldest son 
and child. 

THOMAS E. WARD was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, 
on the fifteenth day of July, 1844. His great-grandfather settled in 
Maryland prior to the Revolution, and he and four of his sons were 
members of the famous Maryland line during the struggle for inde- 
pendence. After the war, his grandfather, Edward Ward, married 
Miss Elizabeth Soaper, and, in 1789, removed to Kentucky and finally 
settled in Ohio County, where he died in January, 1856, at the 
advanced age of ninety -seven years, having raised a large family. His 
eighth child, the Rev. Ezra Ward, the father of the subject of our 
sketch, was born in Ohio County, February 8th, 1808, and, when about 
eighteen years old, joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was 
soon after licensed to preach, and, until his death, July 10th, 1864, 
no man was more widely or favorably known in connection with the 
ministry of that church. 

Mr. Ward's great-grandfather on the maternal side, Captain 
Thomas McCoy, had held the rank of Captain in the British Army, 
and had participated in the French and Indian wars prior to the 
Revolution. At the close of those wars, he sold his commission and 
settled in South Carolma. He, also, was from Ireland. When the 
Revolutionary War broke out, he joined the patriots, raised a company 
and served under General Marion, and was sent by that officer with 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 785 

recruits to General Sumpter, who was defeated, and Captain McCoy 
and his son made prisoners. They were carried to Augusta, Georgia, 
where one Colonel Brown was commanding. Brown had served with 
McCoy and recognized him. A feourt martial was immediately sum- 
moned and Captain McCoy was tried for treason, condemned and 
hung on the same day. His son, a youth of sixteen, a prisoner, was 
executed at the same time. Mrs. McCoy, having heard of the capture 
of her husband and son, set out immediately for Augusta to see them. 
She arrived while they were still hanging, and had them taken down, 
put in rude coffins, placed them in her wagon, and carried and buried 
them. Three months afterwards, Thomas McCoy, the maternal 
grandfather of our sketch, was born. He remained in Carolina until 
1800, when he moved to Breckenridge County, Ky., where he settled 
and lived until his death, in 1862. Elizabeth McCoy was the sixth 
child born of this marriage, and was married to Rev. Ezra Ward on 
the sixteenth day of January, 1839. They settled in Hardin County, 
where they lived up to their death, she dying October 17th, 1855. 
There were seven children born of this marriage, of which Thomas E 
was the third. His childhood was passed on his father's farm, near 
Stephensburg, in Hardin County, where he enjoyed the usual chances 
of securing an education at a country school taught three months in a 
year. The ups and downs of life were his, and. through multipled 
trials, gained his education. So anxious was he upon this point, he 
hired himself to Rev. James Vinson, of Wolf Springs, Hardin County, 
to work during mornings and evenings and on Saturdays, during ten 
months, for his board and tuition. This school was broken up by the 
war, and, soon thereafter, young Ward enlisted as a private in the 
Forty-eighth Kentucky Federal Regiment, infantry, commanded by 
Colonel Burge, a Methodist clergyman. He remained in the service 
four months, mostly on detached duty, when, on a final organization, 
his Captain was left out, and he, with others, declined to be mustered 
in. He then returned to Hardin County, and again entered Rev. 
Vinson's school, upon the previous terms, and there remained for seven 
months, up to June, 1864. Carrying away the honors of the class of 
thirty-four,he returned to farming, where he remained until January,1865 
when he took charge of a school at Longgrove, Hardin County, and 
taught three months. He quit teaching, and, in November, 1865, en- 
tered the employ(as man of all work) of Hon. W. L. Conklin, at Litch- 
field. He commenced the study of law and so applied himself that, upon 
his examination in May,1866, he received the compliments of the exam- 

50 



786 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

ining judges, and a license to practice. He prosecuted his studies to 
1867, when he entered into partnership, in Grayson County, with Judge 
Martin H.Cofer and continued with him to his election as Circuit Judge, 
Mr. Ward continued to practice in Grayson until November, 1872, 
with great success. Having married Miss Isabel Stapp, of Hender- 
son, in June, 1872, he closed his business i- Grayson with a view of 
removins" to Wichita, Kansas, but abandoned the idea on account of 
his wife's objection of going into a new country so far from home and 
friends. January 1st, 1873, -he came to Henderson, and, without 
influential friends, money, or acquaintances, he went quietly to work, 
and has succeeded as few young lawyers would or could have done. 

COLONEL CHARLES MYNN TAYLOR was born at Mt. Zion, 
on the Shenandoah River, near Winchester, Virginia, in the year 
1799. His father, Major Edmund H. Taylor, was an officer of the 
Regular Army, and at one time was in command of Harper's Ferry, 
an important military post. He was actively engaged during the 
Indian Wars, of the Northwest, was present at St. Clair's defeat, and 
in a number of engagements under Generals Wayne and Harrison. 
At the close of the war he was called to service in many appointments 
under the government. He gave up army life when he married, and 
moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1800, where he possessed large 
landed interests. He was a man of wealth, large influence, elegant 
address, generous to friends, gentle to dependents and servants, and 
much beloved by old and young. He was a first cousin of President 
Madison, and a warm and intimate friend of General Harrison, and 
Governor Posey, who made his home with him while in Kentucky. 
Mrs. Taylor was Eloise Thruston, daughter of Colonel Charles Mynn 
Thruston, a descendant of the old English cavaliers, of North Wales, 
England. He was a Minister of the Church of England, but, when 
the war broke out, he laid aside the gown, raised a regiment, and 
joined the army and lost his right arm in the service. Colonel Thrus- 
ton was twice married, and, during a visit to England, his first wife, 
who was a Miss Buckner, died. By this marriage there were three 
children born, Charles, John and Buckner. His second wife was Ann 
Alexander, of Scotch descent ; she had eight children, six daughters 
and two sons. Mrs. Powell, the mother of Admiral Powell, of Wash- 
ington, and Mrs. Taylor, being two of them. Colonel Thruston was 
a man of considerable wealth. In 1807 he left Virginia and moved 
to Louisiana, with nine hundred negroes. At Natchez he lost over 
one hundred from sickness. 

The battle of New Orleans was fought on his plantation, and it is 



lilSTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 787 

mentioned as a historical fact that not a single paling was knocked 
from around his grave. Colonel Charles Mynn Taylor, the subject of 
this sketch, was a man of fine appearance, classically educated, quiet 
and reserved in his manner. His'^-early life was spent in Jefferson and 
Oldham Counties, and, being an active Whig, was one of George D. 
Prentice's warmest supporters. He married Miss Ann M. Barbour 
in 1822, and removed to Henderson in 1837; purchased the Beverly 
farm known as the Taylor field, in the Third Ward of the city. In 
the fall of 1839, his house was destroyed by fire, and he then pur- 
chased and removed to the Colonel Cabell farm twelve miles below 
the city, on the Mt. Vernon road. His life was devoted to his books, 
farming, and then hunting, a sport to which he was passionately at- 
tached. His name was synonimous with hospitality and the joy of 
his life was in entertaining his friends, which included all who knew 
him. For years it was the custom of a party of gentlemen from Hen- 
derson and Louisville to meet during the early fall at his home and 
hunt for three or four weeks. He had no taste for official life, pre- 
ferring to live quietly upon his farm and enjoy the pleasures of the 
wild woods. He was a man of social power, and exercised great 
influence in his neighborhood. Colonel Taylor died in 1867, and on- 
ly two children survive him. Dr. Thomas W. Taylor, and Mrs. F. M. 
Burbank. He had two sons born in Henderson, Captain James N. 
Taylor, a distinguished officer in the Confederate Army, a man of 
splendid appearance, strong minded and universally popular. Captain 
Taylor was for thirteen years a great sufferer, confined to his bed from 
rheumatism, contracted while confined in prison. Alfred was a young 
man of superior intellect and fine business capacity. He died in 
Cadiz, Kentucky, after a short illness. Dr. T. W. Taylor is a highly 
educated physician, and successful practitioner. He has been twice 
married," his last wife being Miss Louisa McDonald, a brilliant lady 
and highly connected. Dr. Taylor has four living children by his first 
wife, Charles, a dashing, successful man of business, Elizabeth, Fannie 
and Saliie. Fannie married Captain William Colmesnil, a practical 
railroader, associated with the Ohio Valley, and Saliie married Mr. 
Posey Marshal, a leading tobacconist of Henderson and Union 
Counties. Mis. Mary F. Burbank, widow of D. R. Burbank, has four 
living children, Misses Annie and Mary, and Charles and Brecken- 
ridge. Mrs. B. inherited her husband's large estate, and, with her 
children, spends the greater portion of her time in Europe, where they 
were highly educated. 



788 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

RICHARD HENDERSON, for whom Henderson County, and 
the City of Henderson are named, was born in Hanover County, Vir- 
ginia, April 20th, 1735. His father was Colonel Samuel Henderson, 
of Scotch, and his mother, Elizabeth Williams, of Welsh descent. The 
family emigrated in 1756 to the presest home of the descendants,Gran- 
ville County, North Carolina. His parents were poor, and hence his 
education neglected. It is said, but the authority for it is not given, 
that he grew to maturity before he had learned to read and write. 
Certainly, after he was of age, he improved his opportunities with won- 
derful energy. The first position that opened up to him a new view of 
life, was that of constable ; followed soon after by that of under-sheriff 
to his father, who had been made sheriff. These duties educated him 
largely in that practical knowledge of men and things for which he 
became distinguished in after life. He read law for twelve months 
with his cousin, Judge John Williams. He then applied for license to 
Charles Berry, Chief Justice of the Colony, whose duty it was to ex- 
amine applicants, and on whose certificate the Governor issued a 
license to practice. " He was asked how long he had read and what 
books ? When the limited time was stated, and the number and names 
of books he had read, the Judge remarked that it was useless to go into 
any examination, as no living man could have read and digested those 
works in so short a time. With great promptness and firmness, Hen- 
derson replied that it was his privilege to apply for a license, and the 
Judge's duty to examine him, and if he was not qualified, to reject 
him ; if qualified, to grant the certificate. The Judge, struck with his 
sensible and spirited reply, proceeded to a most scorching examina- 
tion. So well did the young man sustain himself, that the certificate 
was granted, with encomiums upon his industry, acquirements and 
talents." 

Such energy and spirit knew no rest. He soon rose to the high- 
est ranks of his profession, and honors and wealth followed. Under 
the law of 1767, providing for a Chief Justice and two associates for 
the province. Governor Tryon, about 1768, appointed Mr. Henderson 
one of the associate justices. While holding the Superior Court at 
Hillsboro. Orange County, Monday September 24th, 1770, the " Regu- 
lators " (those who first resisted the aggressions and extortions of the 
crown officers) " assembled in the court yard, insulted some of the 
gentlemen of the bar, and in a riotous manner went into the Court 
House and forcibly carried out some of the attorneys, and, in a cruel 
manner, beat them." Judge Henderson, finding it impossible to hold 
court, left Hillsboro in the night. At the battle of Alamance, near 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 789 

the Alamance River, not many miles distant, on May 16th, 1771, was 
the first blood spilled in resistance to exactions and oppressions of 
English officers in the name of the crown. The troubled times shut 
up the courts of justice. He died January 30th, 1785. 

JAMES P. WIGAL was born on the twelfth day of August, 
1831, in the County of Oldham, Kentucky, one half mile north of 
Pewee Valley. When at the age of five years, his father removed from 
Kentucky to a point thirty miles southwest of Indianapolis, Indiana, 
in Morgan County. He lived and worked with his father, who was 
engaged in the gunsmith trade, until he arrived at the age of twenty 
years. He then learned the art of daguerreotyping. He found at the 
end of two years that the profession of picture making was not as 
congenial to his taste as the handling of machinery, so he commenced 
working with engines, and soon became a proficient engineer and 
machinist. In 1857 he came to Henderson, and, for many years, was 
employed with Joseph Clore, in running the engine at his large saw 
mill. During the war he served eight months in the One Hundred 
and Seventeenth Indiana Regiment, most of the time in East Ten- 
nessee and Virginia, on what may be called galloping service. At the 
end of this term of service he returned to Henderson. There is no 
man, considering his educational advantages, who has contributed so 
much to the scientific world as has Mr. Wigal. On the eighth day of 
May, 1860, he was granted a patent for a saw dust feeder, an invention 
of his, which is now used in every saw mill of importance in the coun- 
try. This machine catches the dust as it falls from the saw and carries 
it direct to the furnace, doing the work of a fireman. On the twen- 
tieth day of June, 1865, he was granted a patent for a "steam gauge," 
which, for simplicity and accuracy, has never been excelled. It is re- 
garded as the best gauge now in use. Other inventions of his are 
well known and highly regarded for their material worth, particularly, 
among the number is an " animal trap," for which a patent was 
granted January 14th, 1868. On the fourteenth day of February, 1874, 
Mr. Wigal married Miss Rodman, of this city. In February, 1881, 
he was elected Superintendent of the Henderson Water Works, in 
charge of all the machinery, and has the gratification of knowing that 
under his administration every department is moving with an ease and 
certainty, entirely satisfactory to his employers. 

DR. ADAM RANKIN was born in the State of Pennsylvania, 
and was among the first comers to Henderson. On the first day of 
November, 1792, he married Elizabeth, daughter of James and Mary 
Speed, of Danville, Ky. By this marriage there were six children, 



790 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Mary Huston, William, Elizabeth Speed, James Speed, Juliet Spen- 
cer and Adam Rankin. William, the first son, married in Henderson 
on July 25th, 1832, Sarah Frances Gwatkin ; they had two children, 
Adam and Gwatkin Rankin. Adam Rankin married Miss Mary T, 
Kelly on the twenty-fifth day of December, 1866, and they have one 
daughter, Elizabeth Powell. Gwatkin, although beyond the meridian 
of life, is still unmarried. William Rankin was the first County Judge 
of Henderson after the adoption of the New Constitution, and served 
for a number of years. He was one of the most popular men of his 
day, being universally esteemed by all who knew him. He was an 
intimate friend of John J. Audubon, and frequently accompanied him 
upon his bird hunting expeditions. He died near Spottsville, January 
22d, 1871. Adam, son of Wm. Rankin, was, for a number of years. 
Clerk of the Circuit Court, and so popular was he, no one could have 
defeated him had he chosen to stand for election or re-election. Owing 
to impaired health, Mr. Rankin gave up the office. Gwatkin Rankin 
is one of the most successful farmers in the county, and, being well 
off financially, takes the world easy. 

Juliet Spencer, the youngest daughter, and next youngest child 
of Dr. Adam and Elizabeth Speed Rankin, married in Henderson on 
the fifteenth day of February, 1827, Dr. Thomas J. Johnson, from 
Franklin County. They had six children, Benjamin, P^lizabeth Speed, 
Adam Rankin, Thomas J., William Stapleton and Campbell Hauss- 
man. Elizabeth Speed married Peter G. Rives, and she has three 
children, Mary, Thomas J. and Lucie ; Mary married Dr. Willard 
Redman, and they have one bright little son. General Adam Rankin 
Johnson, of whom mention has been made elsewhere, married Miss 
Josephine Eastland, of Burnett, Texas, January 1st, 1861. They have 
seven children, Bettie Johnson, Robert E., Juliet, Adam R., William 
C, Ethel, and Mary Redman. William Stapleton Johnson was born in 
Henderson on the twenty-fourth day of February, 1840, and during 
his entire life has been .an active, intelligent, influential man. He 
was chiefly instrumental in the organization of the Henderson 
Building and Loan Association, and has been its President from its 
orsfanization. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the 
Henderson Mining Company, and during the sinking of the coal shaft, 
and for some time subsequent, was the President. He is a Mason 
and an active member of the Methodist church. He is a large dealer in 
drugs, medicines, &c., and manufactures largely several very valuable 
cures of his own — notably, his eye salve, said to be the best known to 
^his country. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 791 

Mr. Johnson is also interested with his brother, General A. R. 
Johnson of Texas, James R. Barrett and Adam Rankin, of this city, 
in a cattle ranch in Texas. He is one of Henderson's thriftiest ai}d 
most far seeing business men. -On the twentieth day of May, 1863, 
he married Miss Bettie Robertson, a most excellent lady, and unto them 
have been born eight children, seven of whom are living, Juliet, Adam 
Rankin,William Stapleton, Sophie, Howell R, Thomas J.Rives. Camp- 
bell Ha'ussman Johnson (see sketch). Elizabeth Speed Rankin died 
on the fifteenth day of August, 1803, and Dr. Rankin married his 
second wife, Miss Ann Gamble, on the twenty-third day of October, 
1804. They had one son, John David Rankin, who married Miss 
Sallie Alexander, of Meade County, Kentucky. They had three 
children, Adam, Sallie and Juliet. Adam and Sallie are both dead. 
Juliet married Captain Paul J. Marrs, a sketch of whom will be found 
elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Ann Gamble Rankin died August 
14th, 1806, and on the third day of September, 1807, in Henderson, 
Dr. Rankin married his third and last wife, Susan Anderson. There 
were six children by this marriage, Nathaniel Alexander, James Edwin, 
Lucy, Archibald, Susan Daniel and Weston. James Edwin married 
in Henderson, on the third day of November, 1832, Miss Ann E. 
Wardlow, and unto them have been born eight children, Samuel, 
James Edwin, Alexander, Nannie, Sallie, Wardlow, Alice and Fannie. 
Of that number only two are living in Henderson, J. Edwin and Ward- 
low, and only one has married. J. Edwin married Miss Fannie Grinter, 
daughter of Judge Thomas C. Grinter, of Cadiz, Kentucky, and they 
have a charming, bright family of six children, Mary G., Annie W., 
Eddie, Thomas G., Chester A., the youngest not named. 

CHARLES W. JOHNSON came to Hebardsville in 1869, and 
engaged in merchandising in partnership with his father. For thirteen 
years he occupied a rented house, and one of insufficient capacity to 
do the business that had grown to such large proportions. In 1882 
he built his present handsome and roomy storeroom, 25x70 feet, and, 
immediatelv upon its completion, removed his stock and then added 
laro-ely to it. In 1881 Mr. Johnson married Miss Emma A. Hatchitt, 
an'Lccomplisheddaughterof Rev. A. Hatchitt, of Hebardsville, and 
unto them have been born two children, 

In addition to his large mercantile interest, our subject handles 
perhaps two hundred thousand pounds of tobacco annually, and farms 
it upon a small, but paying scale, raising corn and tobacco. He has 
proven one of the most successful of merchants and businessmen, and 
from a moneyless condition in life, he has arisen to that of monied 



792 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

influence, being now the possessor of ample property to successfully 
carry out any enterprise he may undertake. He is hard working, far 
seeing, and of the soundest judgment. Politically he is a Democrat 
of the Jackson type, and is one of the most influential workers in his 
district. He is highly esteemed by all of his neighbors and friends, 
and, by honesty of purpose and fair dealing, enjoys a very large 
patronage. There are no better men m Henderson than Charles W, 
Johnson. 

F. H. DALLAM came to Henderson in 1852, and engaged in 
the practice of law. He was a profound lawyer and exceptionably 
successful. I can pay him no higher tribute than by reproducing 
what was said of him some years ago by one who knew him intimately : 

" When he chose — as he sometimes did, to the admiration of his 
friends — to give wings to his glowing, imaginative powers, his was ever 
an eagle's flight, impetuous, rushing and heavenward. A superior 
judge of law, his opinions were always held in the highest estimation. 
A skillful draughtsman — his declarations, pleas, and other legal papers, 
were unsurpassed in power, comprehensiveness, beauty and finish. 
As an advisor, he was much sought ; and his opinions were distin- 
guished by acumen and sound judgment, and by a conscientious 
regard for the interests of his client. But it was in the social circle 
that Mr. Dallam exhibited his fine powers to the best advantage. 
Well informed upon all topics of general interest ; conversant with 
the best authors, and singularly discriminative of their peculiar excel- 
lence, learned in the lore of the philosophers, and in the spirit and 
text of, the poetry ' for which' men strive and die, and maidens love 
and mourn ; ' his colloquial powers were of the rarest and best, and 
charmed all who came within the magic circle of his influence. A 
geniality of temperament which knew no limit to its benign out- 
givings ; a kindliness of heart which ever sought to palliate the 
offenses of his friends against propriety and good taste ; a disposi- 
tion willingly to impart to others the selected fruits of his fine cul- 
tivation and assured judgment ; and a sparkling vivacity of manner 
which pervaded even his more serious utterances, secured to him 
at once the affection, the respect, the gratitude and the admiration 
of those who were thrown into familiar association with him. Of 
acute sensitiveness, he readily granted to others that which he would 
not allow to be withheld from himself — the consideration which is 
due to honest and conscientious expression and action, and the cour- 
tesy which dignifies, and is inseparable from true, gentlemanly address 
and intercourse. Honest, and of a high sense of honor, he ' rendered 




AUDUBON'S MILL. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 793 

unto Caeser the things that were Caeser's,' and scorned to do aught 
which would not bear the severest scrutiny and the sternest criticism." 
Mr. Dallam left a widow an.d two daughters, Miss Camilla Bar- 
bour, who married, June 25th, 1867, Judge A. T. Dudley, and Miss 
Florence, who married April 7th, 1869 Mr. Samuel J. Alves. Henry 
Dallam, an only son, is living in Texas, unmarried. 

MARTIN P. RUCKER.— The subject of this sketch is the 
youngest son of Nancy Burks and Tinsley Rucker, of Virginia, who, in 
early life, was a prominent tobacco dealer in Richmond. Many years 
ago, Mr. Rucker removed to Henderson from Jefferson County, and 
engaged in business ; of latter years, he has led a farmer's life. Unto 
him and his wife (Miss Kate Funk), there have been born six children, 
four of whom are now living, Thomas G., John F., Laura H., and 
Martin P. Thomas G. married Miss Belle Brown, of Daviess County, 
and they have five children, Mary, Lulie, Charley, James and Lee- 
Laura H. married William Rudy, of McLean County, and they have 
seven children, Harry, William, Mary, Kate, Rosa, Bessie and Martin. 
John F. and Martin are unmarried. The subject of this sketch is a 
man of noble impulses, a good neighbor and friend. His wife is the 
embodiment of womanly goodness. 

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.— The renowned man of whom 
this sketch treats, was born in the State of Louisiana, on the fourth 
day of May, 1780, and was of French parentage. He early exhibited 
natural tastes for art pursuits, and was from earliest childhood devoted 
to the feathered race. In 1797, after an extended visit to Europe, he 
returned to America and settled in Pennsylvania. About 1807, he 
floated in a canoe down the Ohio to Louisville, where he remained for 
some, time, and where he was married to Miss Louisa Bakewell. Dur- 
ing the year 1810, he removed to Henderson and commenced merchan- 
dising, his storj house being a small log one-story affair, that stood on 
the southeast corner of Main and First Streets. His residence was 
equally as insignificant, and was situated on the same square and in 
the rear of the present Odd Fellows building. Immediately opposite 
his house, on the west side of Second Street, was his pond, where he 
raised turtles for family use, being passionately fond of turtle soup. 
Mr. Audubon was a warm hearted, liberal man, and for this reason, if 
for none other, was greatly esteemed. He was rather reserved, yet 
devotedly attached to his friends, and his unsuccessful life in Hen- 
derson, is attributable to his over-confidence and big heartedness. He 
was by no means a close or exacting business man, but, on the con- 



794 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

trary, let his business take care of itself, while he indulged his con- 
trolling passion for bird hunting. Men took advantage of him, and. 
from this, he was continually pressed for means and met with frequent 
reverses. On the sixteenth day of March, 1816, he and Thomas W. 
Bakewell, under the firm name of Audubon & Bakewell, made appli- 
cation to the Town Trustees for a ninety-five year lease upon a portion 
of the river front, between First and Second Streets, for the purpose 
of erecting a grist and saw mill. Prior to this time, December 22d, 
1813, he purchased of General Samuel Hopkms, lots Nos. 95 and 96, 
on Third Street, between Green and Elm, and on the third day of Sep. 
tember, 1814, lots Nos. 91 and 92, on Second Street, between Green 
and Elm. The Town Trustees granted the petition of Audubon & 
Bakewell, and soon thereafter they commenced the building of a mill 
suitable for the times. The mill was completed during the year 1817> 
and is yet standing, being the far end section of Clark's factory. It is 
a curiosity for these times, and the weather boarding, whip-sawed, out 
of yellow poplar is scill intact on three sides. The joists are of un- 
hewn logs, many of them considerably over a foot in diameter, and 
raggedly rough. The foundation walls are built of pieces of flat and 
broken rock and are four and a half feet thick. Mr. Audubon oper- 
ated his mill on a large scale for those early times. His grist mill was 
a great convenience, and furnished a ready market for all of the over- 
plus of wheat raised in the surrounding country. His saw mill also 
was a wonderful convenience, doing the sawing for the entire country. 
The timber and lumber used in building the old Kerr, Clark & Co. 
building, on Main Street, was sawed by his mill. 

During: all of this time Mr. Audubon continued his studv of birds, 
and, it is said, that the walls of his mill presented the appearance of a 
picture gallery, every smooth space presenting to the view the paint- 
ing of some one or more birds. In 1817 Mr. Audubon built at Hen- 
derson, a small steamboat, for what purpose it is not known — more, 
perhaps, to gratify his erratic inclination than for any other reason. 
The Captain of the vessel ran her out of the Ohio into the Mississippi 
River, and was followed by her owner in a rowboat to New Orleans, 
where the little craft was recaptured and sold. In 1818 Constantine 
S. Rafinisque, a native of Galato, near Constantinople, Turkey, and a 
naturalist of great reputation, descended the Ohio in an ark, as it was 
called, and remained with Mr. Audubon for a number of weeks. The 
two — to use an ordinary expression — had a picnic bird hunting. 
Birds were far more plentiful and of a greater variety in those days 
than they have ever been since the woodsman commenced clearing the 



kiSTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 795 

country. During Mr. Audubon's entire life in Henderson, he was an 
untiring student of ornithology, frequently going into the woods and 
remaining for two months. Upon one occasion he was known to fol- 
low a hawk, peculiar to this country for three days, in fact, until he 
succeeded in killing it. He was never Known to change his course 
on account of creeks or water courses — those he would swim if neces- 
sary to keep up a trail. At one time he had watched a '■'' flicker ^^ or 
'■'- yellow hammer ^^^ and finally saw it go into a hole in a dead tree. So 
anxious was he to catch the bird, he immediately commenced to climb, 
and in a short time found himself opposite the hole. No sooner said 
than done, he ran his hand in, and, to his horror, pulled out a snake, see- 
ing which, he let go and fell with the snake to the ground, fortunately, 
without injury to himself. Mr. Audubon used to tell this story with 
a good deal of humor to his friends, who wondered at the risks he 
would take in pursuit of his favorite study. Mr. Audubon was a great 
swimmer, and was very fond ot the sport. Upon the landing of the 
first steamboat at Henderson, a great crowd congregated at the bank 
to take a look at the wonderful thing. It was a sort of holiday, and 
one of the amusements indulged in by many men, was that of diving 
rom the sides of the boat into the river. Mr. Audubon put in an ap- 
pearance and paralyzed the audience by diving from the bow end of 
the boat and coming up at the stern end after having passed entirely 
under the bottom. It has been told by those who knew Mr. Audubon 
well, that his wife was also an expert swimmer, that she used a swim, 
ming suit, and frequently swam the river for amusement. This story, 
however, has been contradicted by a granddaughter of Mrs. Audubon; 
nevertheless, old time residents, now dead, have declared to having 
seen her swim the river time and again. Mr. Audubon continued to 
reside in Henderson, happily, as all supposed, until the year 1823, 
when it was discovered that the green eyed monster had domiciled 
itself within his home. He became jealous of his wife, a beautiful 
woman, and from that time life was a burden to him. The two got 
along badly, and finally Mrs. Audubon determined to return to her 
home in Louisville. Mr. Ben. Talbott, father of the late Ben Talbott, 
deceased, tendered her the use of his carriage and driver, which she 
accepted, and thus she was driven overland to her father's home. 
There were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Audubon two children, both boys. 
Subsequent to his wife's departure, Mr, Audubon became embarassed 
and determined to dispose of his effects and remove from the wilds 
of Henderson. In 1824 he went to Philadelphia, and from thence to 
Europe, where he succeeded in having " Ornithological Biographies," 



796 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and " Birds of America " published. He returned some years after- 
wards and settled in New York, where he died on the twenty-seventh 
day of January, 1851, aged seventy-one years. 

GENERAL SAMUEL HOPKINS, who, as agent and attorney, 
in fact for Richard Henderson & Company, located and caused to be 
surveyed the Town of Henderson, and for whom Hopkins County is 
named, was a native of Albermarle County, Virginia. He was an 
officer of the Revolution, and bore a conspicuous part in that great 
struggle for freedom. He fought at the battles of Princeton, Trenton, 
Monmouth, Brandywine and Germantown, in the last of which he 
commanded a battalion of light infantry, and was severely wounded, 
after the almost entire loss of his command in killed and wounded. 
He was Lieutenant Colonel of the Tenth Regiment, Virginia, at the 
siege of Charleston and commanded that regiment after Colonel Par- 
ker was killed. At the surrender of Charleston, May 20th, 1780, he 
was made a prisoner. In 1797 General Hopkins came West and 
settled at the Red Banks, now Henderson. In October, 1812, he led 
a corps of two thousand mounted men against the Kickapoo villages, 
upon the Illinois River, but being misled by the guides, after wander- 
ing over the prairies for some days to no purpose, the party returned 
to the Capital of Indiana. Chagrined at this result, in the succeeding 
November, General Hopkins led a band of infantry up the Wabash 
and succeeded in destroying several Indian villages. His wily enemy 
declining a combat, and the cold proving severe, he was forced again 
to retire to Vincennes, where his troops were disbanded. At the 
close of this campaign, the General returned to Henderson, and settled 
down upon the old Spring Garden farm, one and a half or two miles 
out on the Owensboro Road, where he died in 1819. General Hop- 
kins served several terms in the Kentucky Legislature and represented 
the Henderson District, 1813 to 1815, in Congress. He was commis- 
sioned a Major General, during the War of 1812-'15, by President 
Madison, who was his second cousin. General Hopkins was a double 
second cousin of Patrick Henry, their mothers being double first 
cousins. He was also a second cousin of Stephen Hopkins, who 
signed the Declaration of Independence, and second cousin of 
Colonel Taylor, father of President Zachary Taylor. He was the 
father of Captain Sam. Goode Hopkins, of the Forty-second Regiment 
United States Dragoons, in the War of 1812-'15. He was also grand- 
father of Thomas Towles, Jr,, and Mrs, R. G. Beverly and Mrs. Col- 
onel John T, Bunch. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 797 

REV. JOEL LAMBERT was born August 25th, 1796, in Meck- 
lenburg County, Virginia. His father, Joel Lambert, was of English 
descent, and a farmer by pursuit. His mother, Miss Bennett, was a 
native of Virginia. His parents^removed to Kentucky during his early 
childhood, and settled permanently in Henderson County. He re- 
ceived a limited education, but the best afforded at that early day in 
Kentucky. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and served six 
months in the New Orleans campaign, under General Jackson. After 
the restoration of peace, he returned home, and for several years 
clerked in a dry goods store where he acquiied a reputation for ster- 
ling worth and honesty, and was trusted with what was called '* inter- 
changing " — transferring money from merchants between different 
points in the country. This business carried him largely through the 
unsettled portions of the State to Frankfort, Lexington, Russellville 
and other centers of trade, and was a position of great responsibility 
and danger. Mr. Lambert, was never appointed Sheriff of the county 
because he was never a magistrate, and, under the old constitution, the 
senior magistrate was always entitled to the office of Sheriff, and was 
with one exception, so appointed. It was also the custom of Magis- 
trates appointed to the sheriffalty to farm out the office, that is to say, 
sell it to the highest and best bidder. Under this arrangement Mr. 
Lambert served from 1818 to 1832, either as principal or deputy, with 
great credit to himself and general satisfaction to the county. Dur- 
ing his term of office it fell to his lot to officiate at several hangings, 
and to escort several criminals overland on horseback to the peniten 
tiary of the State. 

When Charles C. Carr was hung, Mr. Lambert was acting Sheriff, 
but his young spirit was too tender to strike the fatal blow, which was 
to send into eternity the soul of one who had done him no wrong. 
Yet he recognized his duty and made all preparations for the hanging. 
Doak Pruitt, a somewhat noted character at that time, was employed 
and broke the neck of the unfortunate Carr for the sum of five dol- 
lars. Mr. Lambert officiated at the hanging of Calvin Sugg and Wil- 
liam Wurnell, both desperate bad characters. Between the years 
1832 and '35, Mr Lambert connected himself with the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church, and prepared himself to enter the ministry. For 
several years he was pastor of the Madisonville Church, for a number 
of years in charge of the Hebardsville Church, and for ten years 
connected with various charges, and, up to the day of his death, held 
missionary and irregular connection with his church. He was ever 
an earnest and faithful worker in the church, and filled many import- 



798 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, ICY. 

ant offices and appointments, being a member of its general assembly. 
For many years anterior to his death, Mr. Lambert was largely en- 
srasfed in farmins: and other business pursuits, and was always success- 
ful, even at his advanced age he gave his daily attention to his farm- 
ing interests, and was as exact in his habits as during his early man- 
hood. In all of the multiplied phases of the Henderson & Nashville 
Railroad, there was no one man who did so much as Mr. 'Lambert 
towards its completion. From the beginning, he took an active part, 
and, throughout all of its ramifications, his hand was to be plainly seen. 
He contributed liberally of his means, and of his time — in fact, for 
many years occupied most of his time in endeavoring to bring the road 
to a successful completion. Throughout his long and successful bus 
iness life, he never for a moment separated his religion from his sec- 
ular interests, and has been noted for his charity, his devotion to 
good works, and his support of every charitable interest in the com- 
munity, while he was unflinching in his adherence to his own church, 
he yet was possessed of broad and liberal views, characterized by 
great charitableness towards others. On the third day of September, 
1818, he was wedded to Miss Polly Husbands, daughter of John Hus- 
bands, who was one of the very first settlers of Henderson, and served 
as Magistrate in the first court after the formation of the, county. 
Harmon Husbands, grandfather of Mrs. Lambert, died while impris- 
oned at Philadelphia for his opposition to the British Government. 

On the third day of September, 1868, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert cele- 
brated their golden wedding by entertaining a host of friends, and, 
again in the presence of God and those assembled, renewing those 
pledges which had been so safely guarded throughout their long mar 
ried life. There was never a happier twain. Of their thirteen chil- 
dren, only three are now living, Mrs. George M. Priest, Samuel Hus- 
band and Mrs. Manuel Kimmel. Mr. Lambert was noted for his pro- 
bity of character, and was universally esteemed and honored in the 
community where he so long lived. He died on the twenty-sixth day 
of June, 1878. His faithful wife still survives him. 

HON. JAMES F. CLAY, was born in Henderson, on the twenty- 
ninth day of October, 1840. His father, James W. Clay, and mother, 
Clarissa Berry, were among the first settlers of Henderson. Of the 
early youth of James F. Clay, little can be said, except that he devel- 
oped an unusual taste for books, a good memory and a decided apt- 
ness in acquiring knowledge. He attended the best private schools 
in Henderson, and had the advantage of strict, moral and intellectual 
training at the hands of his parents. He was sent to Georgetown 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 799 

College, and graduated in 1860. His uncommon mental strength early 
distinguished him among his fellows, and, at the same time, attracted 
ta him the attention and friendship of leading citizens, who yet take 
great pride in his success. Ui3bn his return home from college, he 
began the study of law in the office of Governor Dixon, and, in 1862, 
was licensed to practice. Few men of the country have a greater 
command of language, and the ability to use it with more force as a 
popular speaker. He is a man of strong convictions ; is his own leader, 
and, as a lawyer, displays great power in the court ; is unsurpassed be- 
fore ajury, and is one of the most thoroughly read, eloquent and able 
lawyers in the State. Mr. Clay was married in McLean County, Ky., 
October 29th, 1868, to Miss Bessie Eaves, second daughter of Judge 
Sanders Eaves. They have seven living children, Maggie, Charles, 
Leslie, James W., Irene, Addison Young and Sanders. In 1871 he was 
elected to the State Senate and served one term. In 1882 he was 
elected to Congress and served one term. In both of these positions 
he distinguished himself as a legislator, and won the admiration and 
esteem of his older colleagues. As an evidence of his ability, during 
the days of the St. Louis & Southeastern Railway Company, Consoli- 
dated, Mr. Clay was the retained attorney for the Company, and since 
the formation of the Ohio Valley Railway Company, he has been re- 
tained attorney for that road. He served four years as attorney for 
the city, and has held other minor offices. 

JOHN H. STEWART was born in the Town of Henderson, on 
the fifth day of August, 1851. His father, William Stewart, came 
from Scotland at an early age, and settled in New Albany, Indiana. 
On the twenty-fifth day of April, 1848, he married Miss Sarah Eversol, 
and, in 1850, removed to Henderson. Sarah Eversol was born June 
15th, 1826. William Stewart, a tailor by profession, was a^man of 
staunch character, and of the utmost probity and honesty. He died 
in 1853. Mrs. Stewart died June 21st, 1878. She was a woman re- 
markable for her christian piety, and domestic character. When she 
was thirteen years of age she attached herself to the Methodist 
Church, and was ever a devoted member, letting nothing but sickness 
prevent her from attending worship. At her death a friend wrote the 
following : 

"In 1^53 she was left a widow, with the care of three small chil- 
dren ; to bring them up she struggled hard — as only a mother can strug- 
gle for her children. They have been the care of her life, and in her last 
illness, they were not forgotten. On one occasion, after praying with 



800 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COtJNTV, KY. 

and for her, I was so absorbed with her state that I forgot to make 
special mention of her children. At the close of the prayer she took 
me by the hand and said, * pray for my poor children, that they may 
become christians.' " 

She was a long sufferer, but her last end was peace, her faith firm, 
her sun set in a cloudless sky, and arose amid the glories of an eter- 
nal dav. The subject of this sketch married, October 31st, 1878, at 
Lexington, Kentucky, Miss A. B. Brady, and they have two children. 
Mr. Stewart has been twice elected, by the City Council, Cemetery 
Sexton, and is yet serving in that capacity. He is a staunch and 
working Democrat. 

CAPTAIN JOSEPH ALLEN DUNCAN was born in Vander- 
burgh County, Indiana, on the ninth day of April, 1837, and, at the 
age of seven years, came with his parents to Henderson. He was 
educated in the private schools of Henderson. At the age of twenty, 
on the eighteenth day of April, 1857, Mr. Duncan set upon life's 
journey for himself, and some months thereafter, found himself in 
California, where he resided until August, 1876. During his residence 
in the Golden State, he was variously engaged, principally in hoteling, 
steamboating and minino; for gold. On the twelfth day of July, 1860, 
he married Miss Kate Driscoll, of Sacramento, and unto them have 
been born three children, Harriet Ellen, Mary Josephine, and John 
George. The eldest daughter married Thomas Trusty, who, after a 
few years, departed this life. She again married Thomas L. Myers. 
Mary Josephine died just as she had attained to womanhood. John 
George is engaged in business with his father. The father of our sub- 
ject, John Duncan, was born near Fairfax, C. H., Virginia, in the year 
1787; the mother, Harriet Stroud, was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 
April 16th, 1809. They were married November 16th, 1835. In early 
life, John Duncan immigrated from Virginia to Pittsburgh, Penn., and 
was engaged in fiatboating to New Orleans until 1840, a porJ:ion of the 
time teaching school. Colonel Stroud, as he was known, the maternal 
grandfather of Captain Duncan, fought with the flatboatmen in the 
rifle brigade under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. 
In 1831 he commenced farming in the bayou, opposite Henderson, 
and died September 1st, 1844. 

On the first day of September, 1876, Captain Duncan returned 
from C'alifornia to Henderson and engaged in the hotel business. In 
1878 he purchased his present hotel and has continued to provide for 
his guests in a bountiful way. Captain Duncan is a member of the 
I. O. O. F., and of the encampment of the order of "Red Men" of the 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 80l 

A. O. U. W., and of the Select Knights of the same. In 1863 he was 
a member of the Cahfornia Volunteer Cavalry Service, Co. F. He 
also served for thirteen months as First Lieutenant of the California 
State Guard, doing provost dutUj^and Indian fighting. In politics he 
has ever been a Republican. He has lately been appointed, by the 
City Council, a member of the Board of Health. 

SAMUEL STITES, the subject of this sketch, was a son of 
Richard Stites, (who was a Sea Captain,) and was born in Philadel- 
phia, March 22d, 1792. During the summer of 1819 he immigrated 
to Henderson and engaged in mercantile pursuits. 

For many years he controlled the large landed interest of Mr. 
Lyne Starling, of Columbus, Ohio, located in Henderson County, and 
by his promptness and efficient business capacity, won the confidence 
and highest esteem of that gentleman. On the twentieth day of Feb- 
ruary, 1823, Mr. Stites married Miss Rebecca Holloway, daughter 
of Major John Holloway, of this county, and unto them were born four 
children, namely: Mary Cameron married Edmund L. Davidson, of 
Springfield, Kentucky, and died, leaving one child, now Mrs. Susan 
Ray, of Louisville; Richard married Miss Ann Mary Hopkins, and 
died a few years since, leaving five children, Samuel, William, Camilla, 
Richard and Hamilton. Samuel and Camilla are married, Rebecca 
married Colonel Wm. S. Elam. She has three children, Lucie, Annie 
and William. Lucie married James R. Barret; she has two 
children, Henry Pendleton and Susie Rankin. Mr. Stites, after having 
lived a most exemplary and successful life, died on the fifth day of 
April, 1862. His good wife, one of the strongest minded and most 
charitable of her generation,' followed some years after. 

JAMES ALVES was born in Orange County, North Carolina, 
on the sixth day of March, 1793, and, in early life, came to Henderson 
with his father, Walter Alves, one of the signers of the Richard Hen- 
derson & Co. ordmance, establishing the Town of Henderson. In 1815 
he married Miss Maria Davis, daughter of General Thomas Davis, of 
North Carolina, and raised a large family of children, three of whom 
are now living, namely: James, twice married, first, to Miss Bettie H. 
and secondly to Miss Emily Sneed, daughters of Dr. Richard Sneed, 
of North Carolina; Maria D., wife of James P. Breckenridge, and John 
W., who married Miss Juliet Holloway. Each of these have children. 
Mrs. Arabella Alves, widow of Thomas, the eldest son, is living and 
has five children, all married; James S., Superintendent Henderson 
Mining & Manufacturing Company; Maria, wife of Thomas L. Norris, 

51 



802 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

of Kansas; Joseph B., Secretary and Treasurer Henderson Woolen 
Mills; Gaston M , Secretary and Treasurer Henderson Mining and 
Manufacturing Company, and Eliza, wife of Honorable M. Merritt. 
Mrs. Alves, wife of James Alves, was born in the month of September, 
1795, and, at the age of nineteen, married in Fayetteville, North 
Carolina, and came with her husband to this county, where she de- 
parted this life, many years after, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. 
Breckenridge, having arrived at a ripe old age. She was a most noble 
woman, possessing every grace requisite to adorn life. Her husband, 
during life, was a man of extended influence, greatly beloved and 
universally esteemed. He died suddenly, on the thirtieth day of July, 
1853, leaving to his children a large, and very valuable landed estate. 

PROF. CASPER FREDERICK ARTES was born at Merken 
Saxe, Meiningen, Germany, March 29th, 1816. He was recognized as a 
youth of remarkable talent, and at the University which he attended in 
his native town, his wonderful talents won for him the sobriquet of Little 
Mozart. During the Revolution of 1848, '49, in which he participated, 
he became dissatisfied, and determined to immigrate to America. In 
1851 he came, bringing letters of recommendation to lea<^ing persons 
in New York. He married at his native home Miss Catharine Bier- 
schenk, and she and four daughters and one son accompanied him 
across the sea. After his arrival, owing to his limited means, he was 
at a loss what to do, but, chancing upon a morning paper, he read an 
advertisement, signed Charles F. Lehman, Henderson, Kentucky, 
Principal of the Female Academy, wanting a teacher of music; there- 
upon he determined to come West and seek his fortune. Entering 
into correspondence with Mr. Lehman, whom he found to have been 
a Colonel in the German army, he engaged to come to Henderson. 
Leaving his family in New York, he set out on his journey, and, in 
due course of time, landed in Henderson. He accepted the position 
tendered him by Mr. Lehman, and returned to New York for his family, 
whom he soon brought to this place, then the far West, where there 
were few of his people to be found. 

The father of Prof. Artes was Burgomaster of his native place, 
and at one time during the winter the Duke of Saxony visited his 
town, and, in recognition of his visit, the Burgomaster caused the 
streets to be cleaned of snow, the town decorated, and all the cordiali 
ties of a municipality accorded him. In recognition of this attention, 
the Duke dined with the Burgomaster, and, during his stay, requested 
young Artes to go to the church and play the organ for him. With this 
request he complied, and in return was granted a royal recognition. It 



HISTORY OF iiE>JDERSON COUNTY, KY. S03 

is said that whenever there was to be a royal or ecclesiastical festival, 
Casper F. Artes was invariably called upon to preside at the organ. A 
few years after his arrival in Henderson, Prof. Artes was employed as 
organist of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and, as remarkable as it may 
seem, he performed that irksome duty for nearly thirty years, without 
missing one single Sunday service from any cause. On the twentieth 
day of November, 1886, in the city of Evansville, Prof. Artes departed 
this life, leaving a devoted wife and' large family of children to mourn 
his death. He was a master of the organ, a master of music and a 
man of profound intelligence upon all matters requiring study. He 
was a man of strong impulses, devoted to his friends, and yet diffident 
and deferential. Mr. Charles F. Artes, Evansville's leading and most 
successful jeweler, and a gentleman of the highest character, is the 
eldest son of Prof. C. F. Artes. 

ALEXANDER BUCHANAN BARRET was born in Louisa 
Countv, Virginia, on the eighteenth day of March, 1811, and proved 
to be, in after-life, ope of the most successful and notable business 
men of America. He, with a limited education at the age of four- 
teen years, left home and found employment in the office of his uncle 
in Richmond, Virginia, who carried on a large tobacco trade in this 
country and Europe. In 1833 he was given a partnership, and sent 
bv his uncle to Henderson to take charge of his tobacco interests in 
that locality. A few years after, this firm was dissolved, Mr. Barret 
remaining and retaining the business and reputation of the old firm. 
In 1852 he joined with him his younger brother, John H. Barret, and, 
in this association, the business continued until his death. He estab- 
lished branch stemmeries at Henderson, Louisville, Owensboro, Clo- 
verport and other points in Kentucky, at Clarksville and in Missouri, 
and was, in his time without doubt, the most extensive tobacco mer- 
chant in the world, controlling annually many thousands of hogsheads 
in the markets of England. He was the largest planter in Hender- 
son County, and invested largely and successfully in cotton, and ranked 
as one of the largest land owners and real estate holders in the whole 
country. Honor and uprightness were the leading principles by which 
he ruled his life, and it seems to have been his highest ambition to prove 
to the world, that they were the surest, as well as the best, means to 
financial prosperity. At the age of fifty, in New York City, he died June 
15th, 1861. His remains were removed to Henderson, where his 
memory will long live in the hearts of the people. He died the wealth- 
iest citizen Kentucky has ever claimed. He was twice married. 
His first wife was Miss Juliana Harris, of Louisa County, Virginia, 



804 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

bv whom he had two children, Alexander and Virginia. Alexander 
married in London, England, Miss Emma Allen Chunnock, and some 
vears afterward died. His widow and children are now residents of 
Washington City ; Virginia is the wife of Major Theodore K. Gibbs, 
son of Ex-Governor Gibbs, of Rhode Island, and resides in the City 
of New York. Mr. Barret's second wife was Miss Black, of Dublin 
Ireland, who died several years since, without issue. 

DAVID REDMAN BURBANK was born March 4th, 1806, in 
Belsfrade, Maine. His mother's father was killed at the head of his 
company, at the battle of Bunker Hill, and his father and paternal 
grandfather were officers under General VVashington, and served 
throughout the Revolution. His mother was Marv Bracket, a woman 
of superior qualities of mind and heart. His parents, being highly re- 
fined and intelligent themselves, placed great value on the education 
of their children. David R. Burbank was educated at Waterbury 
College, in his native State. He was a constant student and took 
every opportunity throughout his long business qareer to increase his 
knowledge, therefore, was one of the most thoroughly informed men 
of the country. He came to Kentucky in the fall of 1828, at a time 
when the river was extraordinary low. The steamer upon which he 
was .a passenger, grounded at Scuffle^own bar, and, from thence to his 
destination, the young man footed it through the wild woods. He 
commenced his business career clerking for Atkinson & Co., but sub- 
sequently turned his attention to tobacco, and became, in the course 
of time, one of the heaviest Western buyers, which resulted in his 
amassing a very large fortune. He was a remarkably successful bus- 
iness man, yet he did not permit one branch of business to absorb all 
of his energies. He opened the first coal shaft ; built the first distil- 
lery, one of the largest and most complete in the State ; undertook 
the manufacture of salt — in fact, he strove earnestly to develop the 
resources of the region where he lived, encouraged every worthy bus- 
iness undertaking, liberally aided all schemes for the common com- 
mercial advancement, studied the condition of the mineral wealth of 
the State and led in its practical development. He appreciated and 
sought the society of cultivated men, and, but for the multitude of his 
business cares, would have given himself largely to literary pursuits. 
He made several trips to Europe, and, in 1867, in company with Gen- 
eral John C. Breckenridge, made an extended tour through Egypt 
Syria and the Holy Land, viewing the wreck and ruin of famous cit- 
ies of antiquity. Of all the qualities that endeared Mr. Burbank to 
his associates, the one for which he will be the longest and most grate- 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 805 

fully remembered, was his benevolence. No charitable cause, at home 
or abroad, ever sought his aid in vain. While on an inspection tour 
over his Union County plantation, he was taken sick, and died Octo- 
ber 31st, 1872. His remains were brought to Henderson and interred 
in Fernwood Cemetery, and a very handsome and imposing marble 
shaft erected to his memory. Mr. Burbank was twice married. His 
first wife was Ann Isabella Terry, daughter of Major Robert Terry. 
She died not quite two years after her marriage, leaving one son, 
Robert T., who, at the age of sixteen, left college and joined General 
Walker, at Nicaragua, where he died. He was a talented, adventur- 
ous boy, and aspired to military fame, but fell gallantly at the outset 
of his career. He was aid-de-camp to General Henningsen, who 
complimented him highly for gallant deportment on the field. In 1851 
Mr. Burbank married Miss Mary Frances Taylor, the only daughter 
of Colonel Charles Mynn Thruston Taylor. Unto them were born 
six children, four of whom are now living, Annie, Charles M., Mary 
Taylor, and Breckenridge. David, the eldest son, now dead, married 
Miss Kate J., only daughter of Governor and Mrs. Archibald Dixon. 

HON. JACOB HELD was born in Betzenger, County of 
Rentlingen, District of Black Forest, Kingdom of Wurtemberg, 
Germany, and was educated at the common schools of that country. 
On the first day of September, 1834, he sailed for America, and ar- 
rived at New York on the fourth day of November, of the same year. 
From New York he removed to Philadelphia, and served an appren- 
ticeship as baker, up to April, 1838, when he removed to Evansville, 
where he remained until April, 1839, at which time he removed to 
Henderson. On the twentieth day of May, 1839, he married, in 
Evansville, Miss Louise Lohmeyer, and, as a result of that union, 
twelve children have been born, seven sons and five daughters. Of 
that number two sons and two daughters have died. After coming to 
Henderson, Mr. Held carried on a bakery store and was the first to 
establish a daily delivery of breads, etc., to families in the town. In 
1852 he built the three-story brick storehouse, corner Water and 
Second Streets, and, for a number of years, carried on a large business 
therein. He was mostly instrumental in building the Henderson & 
Evansville Telegraph Line, and was its first President. He served as 
Councilman of his ward, and, in 1874, was elected Mayor and served 
one term with credit to himself and city. He is one of the oldest 
Odd Fellows living in the city, and served his lodge as Noble Grand 
in 1844 and 1857. In religion he is a Lutheran ; in politics a 
Republican. He is the owner of Held's Park, including six and a 



806 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

half acres, a beautiful spot and favorite resort. His residence is at 
the park, and there, too, he carries on a nice grocery trade. When 
Mr. Held came to Henderson, it was only a village with one 
dilapidated church — the old Union Church — thai stood on the Square 
and in which Rev. Thomas Evans preached ; one dray and one 
delivery wagon — James Rouse was the owner of the dray, Nathaniel 
Terry owned the wagon nnd furnished the village with its winter's supply 
of wood, Mr. Held, all of his life, has been extremely liberal with 
his friends and patrons, and has contributed largely to the building 
up and improvement of the city. His wife has been a hard working, 
self-denying, faithful helpmate, and, in their old age, the two enjoy 
life with a loving confidence that has never been diminished. 

GEORGE A. MAYER.— The old gentleman of whom this is but 
an imperfect sketch, was born in the City of Mosbach, Germany, Jan- 
uary 1st, 1797. He received what may be termed a liberal educa- 
tion in his native country, and, on the twenty-ninth day of February, 
1824, married Miss Margaretta Strohauer, unto whom there were 
born nine children, only three of whom attained to their majority, 
Louisa, Jacob F. and Virgin ius M., the latter being born on the high 
sea during his mother's coming to this country. Mr. Mayer, before 
leaving Germany, became a member of the Milhausen Immigration 
Society, whose agent in this country was John Roebling, the great Mas- 
ter Engineer, who was latterly chief in charge of the building 
of the Brooklyn bridge, the grandest iron and steel structure 
known to inventive genius. Mr. Roebling, by accident lost his life 
before the completion of the work, and was succeeded by his son. 

Mr. Mayer arrived at New York in August, 1832, and settled at 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained until the early part of 
1834, when he removed to Evansville, Indiana. He had learned the 
trade of gunsmithing in the old country, and, from this, determined 
to earn his livelihood in this new land. He remained in Evansville 
but a short time, but while there, built, on the corner of Main and 
Second Streets, the first two-story frame building, and the first build- 
ing erected in L-^masco by a German in that town. While he resided 
in Evansville, there were only four or five hundred inhabitants, and 
not exceeding eighty houses, all told. In February, 1835, he removed 
to Henderson, and was among the first occupants of the present resi- 
dence of F. W. Reutlinger, corner of Fourth and Elm Streets. He 
immediately embarked in gunsmithing in an old frame shanty situated 
on the northeast side of Mill or Second Street, between Main and 
Water. He continued in this building for several years, when he re- 




G. A. MAYER. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 807 

moved lo the old Fulwiler brick on Main Street, now adjoining C. H. 
Johnson's book store. By close attention to business, honest work, 
and reasonable compensation, Mr. Mayer held the entire gunsmithing 
trade of the country for several counties, and his prudence led him to 
lay aside enough to increase his business and make himself financially 
comfortable. His trade continued to increase until he found it neces- 
sary to have a more roomy store house, and, to that end, he purchased 
and built the present house, now occupied by his son, Jacob F. 
Mayer. In this house he continued to do business in partnership 
with his sons, Jacob F. and Virginius M., whom he had educated most 
excellent business men and mechanics, until old age bade him desist 
from further labor and spend the remainder of his days in rest and 
quiet. Of his three childien, Louisa married French Gobin, an influ- 
ential and esteemed citizen, and they had two children, one of whom 
is now living, Maggie J., who married Joseph B. Johnston, and they 
have had six children, four of whom are now living, Eugenia, an ac- 
complished young lady, just grown ; Joseph Russell, Robert Evans^ 
and Gilbert Ludson. Mrs. Gobin died March 18th, 1874. 

Jacob F. Mayer has been twice married, first to Miss Lucie Bond, 
of Iowa, by whom he has three living children, Fred. V., Walter and 
Harry. Fred, married Miss Elsie Wymond, of Evansville, and has one 
child, a daughter. Mr Mayer married, secondly. Miss Mattie Wood- 
ruff, of New Jersey, a highly cultured and devoted Christian lady, by 
whom he has had four children, three of whom are living, Frank, 
Herbert and Maurice. Virginius I\L Mayer married Miss Lottie 
Lotze, of Cincinnati, a lady of high, social and domestic character, and 
unto them have been born three children, Amanda, a charming young 
lady just budding into womanhood, and George Adolphus and Virgin- 
ius, both very promising. Mr. Mayer removed several years since 
from Henderson and is now handsomely domiciled in Cincinnati. 
Like their father, both Jacob F. and Virginius M. have accumulated 
erch a handsome estate. The first wife of the subject of this sketch 
died in Henderson, on the twentieth day of January, 1853. On the 
twentieth day of December, 1854, he married Elizabeth Worsham 
widow of Philip Ludson Johnston. She died June 4th, 1875. 

' Mr. Mayer was scrupulous in all his dealings, and has always, 
through his business life, aimed to give perfect satisfaction, and to 
oblige, to the fullest extent, his patrons. He has throughout his en- 
tire life, shown himself a man of marked energy and sound judgment. 
It is not astonishing, therefore, that, in his career and character are 
to be found elements composing a man very useful as a citizen and 



808 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

very successful in business affairs. During his life in Germany, he 
was a member of the Army Reserve Force ; his brother David was 
in Napoleon's Russian Campaign, was present at the burning of Mos- 
cow, and was one of the number who perished in Napoleon's memor- 
able retreat. For seven or eight months in 1848, Mr. Mayer was 
totally blind, cataracts having formed over his eyes, but he subse- 
quently recovered, and now, at his old age, enjoys a good eyesight. 
He is a great reader, loves his smoke and glass of wine, and awaits 
the coming of his Maker with a spirit becoming a philosopher. 

AMON RATHBONE JENKINS, physician and surgeon, and 
son of Thomas Morris Jenkins and Mary Ann King, was born in the 
City of Henderson on the twelfth day of September, 1860. His early 
education was obtained from schools tauo"ht bv Professors Rousseau, 
Kirby and Posey. His paternal grandfather was born in England, 
and came to this country in 1810, settling in the City of Columbus, 
Ohio. His paternal grandmother was a native of Maryland. His 
maternal grandfather was John Boyle King, born in 1876, on Boyle 
farm. County Cork, Ireland ; came to America at an early age, and 
was a distinguished soldier in the War of 1812. His maternal grand- 
mother, Madeline Hager King, of the family of Ormdorffs, Hagers 
and Boharques, early colonist, was born in Maryland. 

The subject of this sketch early conceived a taste for medicine 
and began its study even before he had finished his High School 
education. He entered the office of Dr. Arch Dixon, and there 
prepared himself to enter upon a regular collegiate course. In 1878 
he matriculated at the Louisville Medical University^ and attended its 
winter course. Returning home he was employed in the active study 
of his profession, and many experiments were made by him upon liv- 
ing animals to tell the physiological action of remedies and to prove 
or disprove the accepted theories in regard to them. He returned to 
college in the autumn of 1879, and could have graduated with honor 
the following spring, but, being under age, was compelled to attend a 
third course, graduating in 1881, Dr. Jenkins then returned to Hen- 
derson, and immediately began an active practice, turning his attention 
particularly to surgery. In 1883 he went abroad, spending a year in 
Berlin, Prussia, where he was enrolled as a regular student in Ffed- 
erick Wilhelm Koeniglicher Universitaet in Berlin, under the tutelage 
of such masters as Virchen, Von Langenbeck, Van Bergman, Koch, 
Schroedin and Prof. Esmarch, in Kiel. He returned to Henderson in 

1884, and again practiced his profession with zeal and energy until 

1885, when he again returned to Berlin, where he perfected himself 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 809 

in the art of surgery, witnessing and assisting in all of the capital 
operations in the entire domain of surgical attainment. At the pres- 
ent time he is in active practice in tliis, his native city, and has 
achieved a reputation far greater than that of many who have devoted 
a lifetime. Unless misfortune should overtake him, his name will be 
written high up on the roll of fame, along with the brightest and best 
in the annals of American Surgery. At the meeting of the Mississippi 
Valley Medical Association, held at Crab Orchard Springs, Kentucky, 
in July, 1887, he was elected its Vice President. The Doctor is a reg- 
ular correspondent to the principal medical and surgical journals- of 
this country, England and Germany. 

JENKS WATTERMAN WILLIAMS was born in Henderson 
County, on the tenth day of August, 1826, and was educated from the 
common schools of the county. His paternal great-grandfather was 
one of the Transylvania Company, and the first signer of the ordinance 
establishing the Town of Henderson. Subsequently, he led the com- 
pany to Henderson, and, on his return to North Carolina, was taken 
sick and died, at Frankfort, of cramp colic. The father of Jenks W. 
Williams was John Williams, born in Granville County, North Caro- 
lina, March 28th, 1785. The exact time of his coming to Henderson 
is not known, but thought to have been between 1800 and 1807. On 
the fifth day of November, 1807, he married in this county, Susanna 
Starks. Susanna Starks Williams, the mother of Jenks W,, was born 
June 9th, 1790, in Granville County, North Carolina. There were 
ten children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Jenks W. being the 
youngest son. The father of our subject settled a farm near Grave 
Creek Church, and cultivated it up to the time of his death. On Fri- 
day, July 10th, 1812, he was baptised, and, on the following Sunday, 
received into Grave Creek Baptist Church. Subsequent to that time 
he was authorized to preach the Gospel. Although not educated in 
medicine, he was, for a number of years, the principal and only physi- 
cian of the entire country surrounding his home, and, through his 
unheard of philanthrophy, declined to charge anyone who needed 
or asked his services. He was known oftentimes to ride miles, doing 
good without asking a reward of any character whatever. His mission 
was to do good, and for that he is now reaping his reward in a better 
life. This good man departed this life July 21st, 1840, leaving a large 
family of children and a loving Christian wife. Twenty years subse- 
quent, to-wit : June 11th, 1860, after a life of toil and self-sacrifice, 
Mrs.Williams died. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Samuel 
Farrel Williams, born in North Carolina, and immigrated to Henderson 



810 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

in 1793. He fought at the battle of New Orleans, and died in Hen- 
derson County in 1838. His paternal grandmother was Rebecca 
Stevens Dudley, of English descent. She immigrated to Henderson 
from North Carolina at an early age, and died in 1833. 

Jenks W. Williams, on the sixteenth day of January, 1855, mar- 
ried Miss M»ry Weaver, daughter of Littleberry Weaver, a beautiful 
woman, and one who has shown marked motherly talent in raising her 
children. She is a woman full of energy in the face of adversity or 
prosperity, and has performed life's duties nobly and as becoming a 
good, true wife. She was born in the City of Louisville on the tenth day 
of A))ril, 1839, and came to Henderson when only three years of age. By 
her marriage, seven children have been born, five living, Lillian Jas- 
per, P21iza, Mary, Jenks and Sallie. Lillian married Joseph Bennett and 
has two children, Jenks W. and Lida ; Sallie married John P. Moore, 
of New York, and has one son, John. The mother of Mrs. Williams 
was a daughter of Colonel Robert Smith. She died in 1883 at the 
home of her son Albert. 

Jenks W. Williams, from early life, has made the town his home, 
and has proven himself a useful citizen. He has held several offices, 
and in every instance has proven himself worthy of the trust. During 
the year 1866, '67, '68 and '69, he served as Jailer of Henderson 
County ; in 1857 and '58 as Constable ; in 1886 as City Councilman. 
For ten years he was engaged in the tobacco business with Joseph 
Adams, and subsequently in the same capacity with other tobacco- 
nists. In 1869, while Jailer of the county, the Ku-Klux attempted to 
mob a prisoner confined in the jail. Mr. Williams was found at his 
post, and, mainly through his influence, be that what it may, the mob 
dispersed, leaving the prisoner still in the jail. For several years 
Mr. Williams was proprietor ot the Commercial Hotel on Third Street, 
and then of the Hord House, until 1884, when he rented his 
present house, on Main, near First Street. This house he fitted up in 
handsome style. It contains twenty furnished rooms, and a dining 
room of eating capacity for sixty-two persons. The hotel is a credit 
to his energy and taste, and is largely patronized. Mr. Williams is 
very much like a well regulated clock — never idle. 

PHILIP LUDSON JOHNSTON, of Pennsylvania, erne to Hen- 
derson in 1839 or '40, and, being a practical distiller, engaged in that 
business in the Horse Shoe Bend with two of his brothers. This was 
the first sweet mash distillery built in the county. On the twenty- 
fifth day of February. 1841, he married Miss EHza Worsham, and, only 
a short time afterwards, returned to his native State, Town of Ea:ston, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 811 

where his first child, a son, Eugene Ludson, was born on the eigh- 
teenth day of February, 1842. A short time after the birth of his first 
child, Mr. Johnston removed to lUinois, and settled at Russellville, on 
the Wabash. There he purchased a tract of land, and, again with his 
brothers, commenced distilling. On the twenty-sixth day of Septem- 
ber, 1845, his second son, Joseph B. Johnston, was born, and a very 
short time thereafter Mr. Johnston again removed to Henderson and 
eno-a^ed with his brother-in-law, Elijah W. Worsham, in sawing lum- 
ber and grinding grain for the town and surrounding country. Their 
mill was run by steam, and was situated on the river front, above the 
present mill of Joseph Clore. Mr. Johnston confined himself closely to 
his work, and his unrestrained energy and constant exposure of himself 
brought on pneumonia, from which he died in 1850. His wife and 
two sons survived him. Mrs. Johnston, on the twentieth day of De- 
cember, 1854, married George A. Mayer, and lived to the fourth day 
of June, 1875, at which time she died. Eugene L. Johnston, the eldest 
son, was educated in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and, when yet quite 
young, entered the Banner office in Henderson to learn the art of 
type setting. At the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, he 
espoused the cause of the South, and on the fifth day of August, 1861, 
in Henderson, enlisted as a private in Captain James Ingram's Com- 
pany, and marched overland away to *' Dixie." He was shortly after- 
wards appointed Orderly Sergeant, and his company was attached to 
the Fourth Kentucky Regiment. On the fourth day of December, 
1861, his company was detached from the regiment and assigned to 
the Light Artillery Service under the command of Captain Rice 
Graves. He fought at Fort Donelson, and on the sixteenth day of 
February, 1862, was taken prisoner and sent to Indianapolis. A few 
days prior to the battle, his commanding officer desired to send him 
South on a recruiting expedition, but the honor was declined, owing 
to his anxiety 'to participate in the coming deadly conflict. On 
Sunday night,' May 18th, 1862, he effected his escape, and walked to 
Madison, where he procured a skiff and worked his way to Louisville. 
From there he passed on down through Owensboro and Henderson to 
Uniontown, where he procured a horse and'rode again into " Dixie," 
halting at Chattanooga, where the Confederate Army was stationed. 
He soon after joined the Third Grand Division, General Wood com- 
manding, and was appointed Acting Ordinance Sergeant, under Major 
T. R. Hotchkiss. During the months of July, August, September, 
October, November and December, his command was mostly upon the 
march, going from place to place, watching the enemy. Tuesday, 



812 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

December oOth, the great battle of Stone River was begun by heavy 
skirmishing. Wednesday there was a heavy artillery engagement, 
beginning in the morning and lasting most of the day. There was also 
heavy fighting between the infantry and artillery during the day, and 
the slaughter on both sides was terrible. Thursday there was again 
heavy fighting. Friday, January 2d, Eugene L. Johnston was killed. 
When he enlisted and left his home he carried with him a neat fold- 
ing memorandum book, in which he kept a correct diary account of 
the doings of his command. Not a day escaped him, and his minutes 
were liberal and well written. He gives an interesting description of 
the battle of Stone River up to Thursday night before his death, and 
closed by heading the next page Friday, January 2d. 1863. Poor boy ! 
that was the last line ever written by him. Twenty years after, the 
finder of young Johnston's book, by some means discovered the resi- 
dence of his brother, Joseph B. Johnston, and mailed him the book 
with the following written on the inside of the cover : 

"Found on the battle field of Stone River, near Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee, Friday evening, January 2d, 1863, by the subscriber and 
forwarded to J. B. Johnston July 26th, 1883, after a period of over 
twenty years between dates. 

"R. C. Lane, Capt. Co. H. 40th, Ind. Vet. Vol. Infantry. 
Paris, Illinois." 

When Captain Lane discovered the body lying upon the battle- 
field, it was after nightfall, and the book found open in his hand. Mr. 
Johnston prizes the little book as only a brother can, and will ever 
hold Captain Lane in kindly remembrance. Joseph B. Johnston, 
second son, followed the footsteps of his brother Eugene, and he, too, 
learned the art of type-setting, but this work was too monotonous for 
his active spirit. His first venture was in partnership with R. P. 
Evans, in the drug business. A short time after he went West, 
and clerked, during 1864 and '65, in St. Louis and St. Joe, Missouri. 
Returning home he again entered the drug business in partnership 
with H. S. Park. In 1867 he sold his interest to Cabell & Towles, 
and accepted a clerkship with G. A. Mayer's Sons, where he remained 
for three years. He then built the brick storehouse on the northeast 
side of Second, between Main and Water Streets, and opened a build- 
ers' emporium, where he continued seven years, or up to 1880. He 
then joined the firm of French Mayer & Co., and established the 
spoke and handle factory, corner Fourth and Green Streets. Several 
months after, he sold his interest to Edwin Robards. Then, in part- 
nership with his uncle, E. W, Worsham, he built the Peerless Distillery, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 813 

and made two crops of whisky, when he was elected City Clerk and 
gave up distilling. He is now serving his fourth term, and it is due 
to him to say, that he has, by systematic improvement in books and 
forms, so simplified the work that^it is now a pleasure where it used 
to be irkesome. Mr. Johnston's strict attention and intelligent capacity, 
will, no doubt, secure him the clerkship so long as he may choose to 
accept it. 

On the twenty-ninth day of April, 1869, Mr. Johnston married 
Miss Margaret Gobin, a lady of most excellent domestic character, 
and unto them have been born six children, four of whom are living. 
Eugenia, Joseph Russell, Robert Evans and Gilbert Ludson. Miss 
Eugenia is of the sweet girl graduate class, and is greatly admired for 
her excellent character and womanly graces. The other children are 
promising. Mr. Johnston has been, throughout life, an active, intelli- 
gent man of business, and, by his honesty, sincerity, and open frank- 
ness, numbers a host of friends. He is an active member of both the 
Odd Fellows and Knights of Pvthias Lodges. 

COLONEL JACKSON M'CLAIN was born in Henderson 
County, on the fifth day of October, 1816. His father, James Mc- 
Clain, was born in Henderson, and was a leading farmer and influen- 
tial citizen to his death, in 1839. His mother was Miss Butler, her 
father also being a farmer. Colonel McClain was educated at the 
common and private schools of his county, and being a young man of 
strong mind and retentive memory, he learned rapidly and with ease 
to himself. At the age of twenty-three, his father died and left his son 
with his large estate to look after, and the younger members of the 
family to educate and raise. He performed these arduous duties with 
signal ability, and to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. 

Colonel McClain is a very large land owner, and has farmed it 
for a great many years on a large scale. The war robbed him of a 
large number of valuable slaves, but, notwithstanding that, with his 
usual indomitable will-power, he has annually, with the uncertain labor 
at his command, grown large crops. He is a continual thinker, apply- 
ing his mind to the successful management of his business affairs. 
He is a man of sound judgment upon all matters, and his long and 
eventful career has proven it. In 1841 he was married to Miss Mary 
Watson, and unto them was born one child, Annie. She married Col- 
onel A. H. Major, a highly educated gentleman, and he died several 
years past, leaving a family of four children, Kate, Jackson, Samuel 
and Ella. Mrs. McClain died, and again, in 1869, Colonel McClain 
married Miss Carrie S. Hunt, of Warsaw, Illinois. She died a few 



814 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

years since leaving five sons, Jackson, Hunt, William, Henry and 
George. He again married, Mrs. Helen Trafton his present wife. 

Colonel McClain has served as a Director in the Henderson & 
Nashville Railroad Board, and was largely instrumental in the success 
of the enterprise. For several years he served as a Director of the 
Farmers' Bank, and, on the second day of August, 1862, was elected 
its President. He has served several terms as a member of the 
Public School Board, and has oftentimes been sought to take charge 
of trust funds, estates, &c. He is an uncompromising Democrat and 
for many years has served as a member of the County Committee. 
He is a member of the Episcopal church. 

WILLIAM P. BEVERLY was born in King George County, 
Virginia, on the twenty-second day of August, 1818, and was educated 
at the Mitchell School, Fredericksburg. His father, William Beverley, 
was born in Caroline County, Virginia, in 1790, and married Sarah 
Ann Posey, youngest child of General Thomas Posey — a sketch of 
whom will be found on page 648 of this volumn. Mrs. Beverly was 
born in 1800, and died in 1851. William Beverley immigrated to Hen- 
derson County in 1832, and settled upon one hundred and twenty 
acres of land, Wfrig in the south end of the town, and now built up with 
business and dwelling houses. He died in Henderson in 1845. Our sub- 
ject's paternal grandfather was Colonel Robert Beverley, a distin- 
guished citizen, and influential planter of King George County, Vir- 
sinia. He married Marv Buckner, and thev both died in that State. 
His maternal grandfather, General Posey, married Mary Alexander. 
William Beverly, father of our subject, was a soldier in the War of 
1812. William P. Beverley married Miss Kate Posey McCombs, an 
adopted daughter of General Posey, who graduated from Mrs. Tevis' 
Female Academy, at Shelbyville. They have six children living, 
Camelia Buckner, Sarah Ann, Thomas, Hood, William Alexander and 
Lucie. Camelia B. married Robert D. Chambers, now deceased, and 
has one daughter. Miss Beulah. Sarah Ann married VVilliam L. Posey, 
and has five children, Thomas Henry, William Alexander, Lucie Sey- 
mour, Louisa McLean and Robert Gaines. Thomas is yet single, and 
has been, for a number of years, an accomplished painstaking, and 
pleasant Deputy Clerk in the County Clerk's office. William Alexan 
der is a hard working, money making farmer. Hood is an expert 
typo, having served several years at the case. He recently returned 
from a business venture in the far West, and has again settled in 
Henderson. Miss Lucie is a handsome, intelligent young lady and 
much beloved by her friends. Mr. Beverley came to Henderson with 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 815 

his father in 1832, and has continued to reside here. He is the owner 
of a large farm, lying on the Henderson and Spottsville Road, through 
which the Louisville & Henderson Railroad will pass, and another 
smaller farm on the Green River*"Road. The larger farm is operated 
by his son, William Alexander, while the smaller one is under his own 
immediate supervision. In religion, Mr. Beverley is a staunch Pres- 
byterian, and is an Elder in the Second Church. In politics he is a 
Democrat. During the greater part of his life Mr. Beverley has fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming, living upon his farm, but of latter 
years has resided in the city, and owing to a severe accident has 
for several years been unable to undergo any active labor. He has 
been an active, hard working, intelligent farmer, and, as a result, has 
laid up a handsome competency to comfort him and his devoted wife 
in their old age. 

ROBERT ALLISON BRADSHAW was born in Shelbyville, 
Kentucky, on the twentieth day of December, 1833. He was sent to 
school at that place till arriving at the age of twelve years, when he 
was removed to Daviess County. His father, William A. Bradshaw, 
was born in Shelby County in 1809, and was raised by his uncle, 
James, in Shelbyville, until fourteen or fifteen years of age, when he 
was sent to Owensboro and placed, as a clerk, in the dry goods store 
of James Bradshaw and Anthony Kirkpatrick. Here he remained 
until he was twenty-three or four years of age, when he returned to 
Shelbyville. In 1813, he married Miss Fanny Buntin Allison, of Vin 
cennes, Indiana. He then returned to Shelby County, and engaged in 
farming up to 1844. Then, again, he returned to Owensboro, and there 
died November, 1876. His wife died in the same place in 1856, leav- 
ing six children, Robert Allison— subject of this sketch— Mary Eliza- 
beth, Sally, William, Catharine and Frank. The maternal grand- 
father of our subject was Dr. Robert Allison, a native of Kentuckv. 
In 1812 he married Miss Mary A. Buntin, of Vincennes, and removed 
to Henderson, Kentucky, his then home. Subsequently he removed 
to Shelbyville, and then to Vincennes, where he died, 1820, leaving 

7 7 O 

his widow and three children His wife, the grandmother of our sub- 
ject, was the daughter of Captain Robert Buntin, the command- 
ant of Post Vincennes. When a child, she was exceedingly popular 
with the officers of the army, and spent much of her time with an aunt, 
who was the wife of Colonel Francis Vigo, a noted Spanish merchant, 
and for whom the County of Vigo, Indiana, is named. She was a 
great favorite of the Colonel, and witnessed the council of General 
Harrison and Tecumseh. She was well acquainted with General 



816 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Harrison, Judge Parke, Territorial Representative in Congress, Col- 
onel Hamar, General St. Clair, and others. When thirteen years of 
age she was sent to school at Lexington, Kentucky. An Indian trail 
was the only road between the two places, and the trip required two 
weeks' time. Her wardrobe was carried in saddle-bags by the horse 
she rode. She had two school girls as companions, with her brother 
as escort, each, of course, riding on horseback, while a fifth horse 
carried a tent and camp equipage. Mrs. Allison was three times 
married, and spent the greater portion of her life in the South. In 
1827, although having been baptised by a Catholic Bishop, Mrs. Al- 
lison united herself with the Presbyterian Church, and proved a de- 
voted member to the day of her death. She was an untiring reader, 
and most exemplary woman. Robert Allison Bradshaw married in 
Owensboro on the twenty-ninth day of January, 1856, Miss Rebecca 
May Bell, and unto them have been born seven children ; six of them 
are yet living, Robert Bell, Mary Eliza, Frankie Allison, May Belle, 
William Archer. Sallie Kate, and John Matthews. 

Robert Bell Bradshaw, eldest son, was born on the fifth day of 
November, 1856, in Daviess County. He was educated in Owens- 
boro, and subsequently married in 1883, at Vincennes, Indiana, Miss 
Alice Stewart, granddaughter of Rev. Dr. Alexander, who was the 
officiating clergyman. A pleasant coincident in the family is the fact 
that Dr. Alexander, just fifty years prior to that time, officiated at the 
marriage of his grandfather, William A. Bradshaw, in the same place^ 
Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw have two daughters, Nora Belle, and Clara. 
Mary Eliza married James Samuel Taylor of Henderson, now of 
Richmond, Virginia, a prominent tobacconist, and has one daughter, 
Laura Holloway. 

Robert A. Bradshaw lived in Owensboro thirty-two years, and, in 
1876, moved to Uniontown, Union County, where he resided up to 
1883, when he removed to Henderson. Before arriving at legal age 
he made several trips with horses and cattle to Natchez and New 
Orleans. For twenty years of his life in Owensboro, and during his 
entire residence in Uniontown, Mr. Bradshaw followed the tobacco 
business, and has been thus engaged in Henderson since his residence 
here. In politics Mr. Bradshaw was an old line Whig, then a Know- 
nothing, and since the war a consistent Democrat. He was never an 
office holder, from the fact he was never an applicant for one. In 
1873, at Owensboro, he joined the Presbyterian Church. He was an 
Elder of the Uniontown Church, and on the ninth day of November, 
1883, was elected an Elder of the Second Presbyterian Church of this 



tilSTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 817 

citv. He has for a number of years been a member of the Knights of 
Pythias and Knights of Honor. Mr. Bradshaw is a quiet, reserved 
man of business, the soul of honor, far seeing, and judicious in all 
that he does. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



ASSESSMENT OF HENDERSON COUNTY as reported for 
1887: Land, number of acres, 2,509,111; value, $3,722,540. Num- 
ber of horses, 3,347 ; value,'$244,020. Mules, 3,250; value, $200,470. 
Cattle, 4,533; value, $58,798. Sheep, 3,337; value, $5,757. Hogs, 
13,570 ; value, $41,408. Stores, 176 ; value, $249,055. Watches and 
clocks, S23,109. Gold and silverware, $6,627. Jewelry, $1,687. Pianos, 
$23,055. Carriages, &c., $86,937. Credits of money at interest, 
$722,068. Money on deposit, $148,508. Bonds, $175,207. 

Grand total personal property, ■ ,• $2,868,642 

" land " 3,722,540. 

'' *• city and town lots 1,928,850. 

^8,520,032. 
Total pounds of tobacco, 12,307,925. Corn, 1,323,108. Hay, 
4,428 tons. Wheat, 147,962 bushels. Oats, 31,612. 

COLORED LIST. 

Total personality, $44,605. Land, $47,984. City and town lots, 
$34,760. Grand total, $127,349. 

CITY ASSESSMENT for 1887, as reported: For city purposes, 
$3,963,767. Water Works, $3,725,372. Railroad, $3,973,767. School 
and bond, $4,006,617. 

COLORED LIST. 

For City, Water Works, Railroad and School, $72,705, each. 

The population of Henderson, including the Cotton Mill district 
for the year 1887, is estimated between ten and eleven thousand. 

There has been established this year, 1887, a colored high school, 
Rev. J. C. Templeton, President; Wm. H. Hall, Secretary; Samuel 
Givens, Treasurer and George H. Bell Superintendent and Principal. 

During this year,1887,there has been, perhaps, the most protracted 
and destructive drouth that has ever been known in the Ohio Valley. 
There is no memory or record that reports its equal in those respects, 



52 



818 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

and in the one of destructiveness could hardly have been equaled far 
beyond the memory of the oldest living. There had never been any- 
think like so much farm wealth exposed to injury. It may be estimated 
that the corn has been reduced 50 per cent. ; grass and hay, 60 per cent. ; 
tobacco, 70 per cent. ; and the potato yield 60 per cent. There 
has been no rain to amount to anything during the last six months. 

HIGH WATER MEASUREMENTS made by O. F. Nichols, 
resident engineer, in charge of building the railway bridge across the 
Ohio: 

Elevation corner Fourth and Water Streets, above maximum, 
high water. 

High water, 1832, 46 feet. ^ 

1867, 43.2 " 

1882, 43.1 " February, 23d. 

1883, 46.3 " " 19th. 
'* 1884, 46.7 " " 16th. 

The above estimate is accurate and shows that the water of both 
1883 and '84 ^as higher than ever known before. The water of 1884, 
it will be seen, r is the highest ever known, and Henderson stood 
twenty feet above that, while the cities and towns above and below 
her were inundated. 

Outlawry. — One of the most heartless acts of outlawry ever perpe- 
trated in the county, was the whipping of Cora Walker, in June, 1862. 
Mr. Walker was a miserly sort of man, and it was thought possessed a 
large sum of money hidden away. Seven men appeared at his cabin 
in the dead hour of night, and, taking him out, demanded his money. 
He refused, and thereupon was soundly whipped, hickory withes 
being used as instruments of torture. He finally gave up what he had, 
but with this the gang was not satisfisd, and demanded more. Failing 
to get it, the lash was again applied, and then the poor man left to 
make the best of it. From this whipping a severe fever set up, and 
a few days after Mr. Walker died. He was a brother-in-law of Mr. 
J. T. Sandefur, of Geneva, and died at his home. 

A Characteristic Verdict. — At an inquest held over the 
body of a free woman of color, many years ago, by Captain Henry 
Dixon, Coroner, the following ingeniously humorous verdict was ren- 
dered: 

" We, of the jury, think it was an act of provide nee, zXX except Walter 
C. Langley, and Young E. Allison, who think it was from some other 
cause, unknown to us at present." The jury was composed of Jacob 
B. Hopkins, John Watson, Hobert B. Sthrestly, Francis J. Hopkins 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 819 

John Logan, Wm. R. Abbott, Payne Dixon, John Moffit, S. Pentecost 
John H. Sublitt, Walter C. Langley, and Young E. Allison. 

High Water. — During the high water of February, 1884, when 
the entire country . above ancT'below and opposite Henderson was 
completely inundated, Henderson stood twenty feet yet above the 
water line. There was immense suffering in the overflowed districts, 
and no community responded more liberally than did Henderson. 
Hon. C. C. Ball, Mayor, chartered a boat, and, at great personal 
sacrifice, went to the rescue of the unfortunate as far down as Mt, 
Vernon, Indiana. 

Murders. — There have been committed in Henderson County, 
since December 14th, 1818, forty-eight murders or killings, of which 
judicial notice has been taken. Fifteen of this number were committed 
within the present city limits, and, of the entire number, forty-eight, 
there were nine verdicts for murder in the first degree and one for 
life imprisonment. Charles C. Carr was hung December 14th, 1818, 
for the murder of Lemuel Cheaney ; Samuel Calvin Sugg, May 4th, 
1826, for the murder of Elijah Walton ; Hannah Hazelwood, April 30th, 
1834, for the murder of a child of Sandy Hicks ; Joseph Wurnell, 
November 5th,1837, for the murder of Abner Jones; Henry McAllister, 
same day, for murder of David Fuquay ; Philip Tyson, colored, 
November 2d, 1849, for the murder of Captain Abraham Tyson ; John 
Murphy, August, 1859, for the murder of James Casey ; Daniel 
Barret, colored, February 6th, 1863, for the murder of James Kissee; 
James McElroy, July 1st, 1887, for the murder of Walter Mart. 

There have been several earthquakes during the year 1887, but 
none more noticeable than the one of August 1st. 

Old Dick Henderson, who was driven to a tree by the wolves, 
in early times, while enroute to fiddle for a dance, died at the city 
poor house three years since. A highly flavored sketch of Dick's 
escapade has amused the thousands of students of Goodrich's school 
reader. 

Henderson Postoffice was established in October, 1801. The 
following is a complete list of Postmasters, &c.: 

George HoUoway, October 1st, 1801 ;. John Husbands, June 6th 
1802; Sibilla Husbands, September 26th, 1812 ; Samuel A. Bowen 
August 6th, 1818 ; Hugh Brent, June 9th, 1821 ; James Hillyer, 
April 7th, 1823; re-appointed, October 29th 1825 ; David H. Hillyer, 
May 2d, 1833 ; Philo H. Hillyer, August 14th, 1835 ; James E Ricketts, 
February 7th, 1854; Jeptha M. Dodd, October 27th, 1857 ; John 
McBride, March 28th, 1861; re-appointed, April 11th, 1865 ; John P. 



820 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

Balee, August 10th, 1869; Harvey S. Park, April 19th, 1871, re-ap- 
pointed, April 23d, 1875, re-appointed, December 15th, 1879; re- 
appointed, January 8th, 1884; Robert E. Cook, November 2d, 1885. 
This office was established a money order office, August 1st, 1866, and 
from that time to August 1st, 1867, issued 353 money orders. Ten 
years afterwards, to-wit: from August 1st, 1876, to July 30th, 1877, it 
issued 3,883 money orders. On the first of September, 1871, it was 
designated as one of ten in the State as a Brittish International Money 
Order Office. As one of fourteen in the Slate as a German Interna- 
tional Money Order Office, and on September 1st, 1875, as one of 
seven in the State, as a Canadian Money Order Office. During the 
first seven years, only two hundred and seventy-one orders were issued. 
As an evidence of the increase, in 1886 there were issued three 
thousand money orders, and twenty-five hundred postal notes, amount- 
ing to a total of $60,000 for the year. Five thousand letters, and an 
equal number of papers are received, mailed and distributed daily. 

MUSICAL — Mozart Society. — The idea of organizing the 
above named society was conceived by Professor and Mrs. J. M. Bach, 
who, with a few kindred spirits, enlisted public interest, and success- 
fully organized the society on the twentieth day of September, 1886. 
The following named composed its Charter Members : Professor J. 
M. Bach, S. L. Marshall, Ingram, Crockett George M. Atkinson, Wil- 
liam Peters, C. T. Blackwell, Mrs. J. M. Bach, Mrs. George M. At- 
kins, Misses Annie Beaty, Annie M. Starling and Elizabeth Perkins. 
Over sixty names are now enrolled in its membership. The society 
has made but one public appearance^— that on the eighteenth evening 
of February, 1887, at the new Opera House, in the sparkling little 
operetta of " Margueretta," written by Mr. Crockett, and music by 
Professor J. M. Bach. 

Henderson Band. — As far back as 1845, Henderson had what 
it was pleased to call a " Band of music. " At the Crittenden barbecue, 
held some years after, the Henderson Band furnished the music on 
the occasion. Messrs. Jacob F. Mayer, V. M. Mayer, Robert G. 
Rouse, Jr., Jacob Kohl, and Monroe Hicks, all yet living, were mem- 
bers of the organization. Since the disbandment of that organization 
Henderson has had many musical ups and downs ; one year a band, 
next year no band, and so on. Within the last eight months, however, 
a band has been organized, and Henderson rejoices in knowing that 
it is fast coming to the front as a first class musical organization. The 
following compose its membership : Louis P. Kleiderer, Leader, solo 
B^ cornet ; John Lindstrum, E^ cornet ; Alfred Lindstrum, second 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 821 

cornet; Ed. Hoffman, E/^ claronet ; Otto Tonini, B^ claronet ; Jack 
Evans, tuba ; Thomas Sandefur, baritone, Wm. FuUviler. first tenor ; 
Wm. Marsh, second tenor ; Jal^ Hoffman, first alto ; Robert L. Car- 
men, second alto ; Jim Carey, snare drum ; James Harrison, bass 
drum ; George Long, Drum Major. 

LOUISVILLE & HENDERSON RAILWAY.— During the 
week ending Saturday, September 4th, 1887, contracts were entered 
into for the building of this road between Henderson and Owensboro. 
Green River will be bridged at a point near Spottsville, and it is con- 
templated to complete the entire road by August 1st, 1888. When 
this road is completed and placed in good condition, the time con. 
sumed between the two cities will not exceed four and one-half hours. 
A citizen of Henderson will be able to breakfast at home, dine in 
Louisville, transact business three or four hours in Louisville, and re- 
turn before bedtime. 

HENDERSON STREET RAILWAY.— On Monday, Septem- 
ber 19th, 1887, the first dirt was broken upon the line of the first 
street railway ever constructed in Plenderson. Work was begun one 
hundred feet west of the intersection of Green and Washmgton 
Streets. At the end of the first week very nearly three squares of 
track were completed, and, but for a strike among the laborers, afar 
greater amount of work would have been done. The officers of this 
company are: David Banks, Jr., President; Paul H. Banks, Secre- 
tary ; and Elijah G. Sebree, General Manager. 

CITY OFFICIALS.— Hon. Phelps Sasseen, Mayor; A. S. NuniV, 
Alex. Fenwick, Frank Sugg, R. C. Soaper, Paul J. Marrs, P. P. John- 
son, Edward Manion, M. M. Kimmel, .Councilmen ; J. B. Johnston, 
Council Clerk ; Chas.T. Starling, Treasurer ; Ezra C. Ward, City Judge; 
R D. Vance, City Prosecuting Attorney ; Hon. J no. L. Dorsev, 
Council Advisor ; John Kriel, Marshal. 

HENDERSON NEWSPAPERS.— The News, Ben. Harrison 
Publisher and Editor, is the oldest established paper in Henderson, 
having been successfully published for near a quarter of a century. 
It is Democratic in politics, and bold and outspoken in all matters of 
public concern. Mr. Harrison is one of, if not the oldest, editor in 
the State, and wields a pen unsurpassed for grace and pleasing diction. 
The News was for a number of years the official organ of the city. 

The Journal was incorporated in November, and appeared 
first, December 10th, 1883. It was organized by a stock company, and 
was sold in June, 1884, to Messrs. John A. Lyne ^nd Starling L. Mar- 



822 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

shall. It is a folio 31x41 inches, and Democratic in politics. Its first 
editors were, Hon. M. Yeaman and E. L. Starling. The Journal is 
now the official organ of the city. 

The Gleaner — A history of the Gleaner will be found in the 
sketch of its founder. C. C. Givens, published elsewhere in this 
volumn. 

The Reporter, purchased and removed by Judge J. F. Sim- 
mons, several years since, to Sardis, Mississippi, was established in 
Henderson in 1853, by Colonel C. \iW. Hutchen and E. W. Worsham. 
For thirty years it was a tower of strength in Henderson. The Re- 
porter was the immediate successor of the " Banner^''' published by 
Hutchen & Rickett. The Columbian was the first paper published 
in Henderson, then the South Kentuckiuft. There have been several 
other papers published : The Courier, Commercial, Tri- Weekly Sun, 
Daily Times, Sentinel^ Free Lance, &c. 

COUNTY OFFICIALS FROM 1799 TO 1887. 

clerks OF COUNTY AND QUARTER SESSIONS COURT. 

John D. Haussman, 1799 ; Ambrose Barbour, 1800, '1, '2. 

CLERKS OF COUNTY AND CIRCUIT COURTS. 

Ambrose Barbour, 1803, '4, '5, '6, 7, '8, '9, '10, '11, '12, '13, '14, 
'15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22; Harrison Grigsby, 182-J, '23, '24 ; 
William D. Allison, 1824, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, 
'35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50, 
'51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60. 

CIRCUIT CLERKS. 

Peter G. Rives, 1860; Tignal J, Hopkins, 1860, ^61, '62; Adam 
Rankin, 1862, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67, '68, '69, 1870, '71, '72, '73. '74; 
David Banks, Jr., 1874, '75, '76, '77, '78, '79, 1880, '81, '82, '83 ; S. 
A. Young, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87. 

COUNTY CLERKS. 

Y. E. Allison, 1860, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66; James P. Breck- 
enridge, 1866, '67, '68 ; Francis E. Walker, 1869, '70, '71, '72, '73 ; 
George W. Smith, 1873, '74, '75, '76, '77, '78, '79, 1880, '81, '82, '83,' 
'84, '85, '86, '87. 

SHERIFFS. 

Andrew Rowan, 1799; Charles Davis, 1800, '81, '82; Daniel 
Ashby, 1803, '4 ; Eaneas McCallister, 1805, '6; Uriah Blue, 1807, '8 ; 
Fielding Jones, 1809. '10 ; Dan'l McBride, 1811, '12; Elijah King, 
J813, '14; Joseph Fuquay, 1815, '16; John Davis, 1817, '18; Jacob 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 823 

Newman, 1819, '20; Samuel Hopkins, 1821, '22 ; John Holloway, 
1823, '24; Fa yett P osev, 1825, '26; Robert Smith, 1827, '28; Ben. 
Talbott, 1829. '30; Thomas Lambert, 1831, '32; John Green, 1833, 
'34, '35, '36; James. Alves, 183^ '38; Garland Curly, 1839. '40 ; John 
Green, 1841, '42; Haywood Alves, 1843,'44; Robert Smith, 1845, 
'46; George W. King, 1847, '48; William Green, 1849, '50 ; J. M. 
Stone, 1851, '52; G. A. Sugg, 1853, '54, '55, '56; James H. Priest, 
1857, '58; G. A. Sugg, 1859,'60 ; Decius Priest, 1861 ; Isom Johnson, 
1862; D. N. Walden, 1863, '64 ; Wm. S. Hicks, 1865, '66, '67 ; Isom 
Johnson, 1868, '69, '70, '71, '72 ; John M. Johnson, 1873, '74, '75, 
'76; B. F. Gibson, 1876, '77, '78, '79 ; Willam Hatchitt, 1879, '80, 
'81, '82, '83 ; John E. Hickman, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87. 

JAILERS. 

John Haney. 1804, '5, '6, '7 ; Ephriam Sellers, 1808, '9 ; Joseph Fu- 
quay, 1810, 11, '12, '13, '14 '15, '16, '17 ; William Williams, 1818, 
'19, '20; WilHam Jett, 1820, '21, '22, '23; James Rouse, 1823, '24, 
'25, '26, '27, '28 '29 '30; Thomas P. Lambert, 1830, '31, '32, '33, '34, 
'35, '36; William Abbott, 1836, '37, '38, '39. '40, '41, '42; Joseph D. 
Gobin, 1842, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50 ; Mrs. Frances Gobin, 
1850; L. W. Brown, 1851, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, 58, '59, '60, '61, 
'62; Ed. McBride, 1862, '63, '64, '65; J. W. Williams, 1866, '6v, '68, 
'69; R. B. Cabell, 1870, '71, '72, '73; J. E. Denton, 1874, '75, '76; 
A. B. Sights, 1876, '77, 78 ; E. M. Johnson, 1878, '79, ,80; '81, '82, 
'83, '84, '85, '86, '87. 

COUNrV JUDGE. 

William. Rankin, 1851, '52, '53, '54 ; Y. E. Allison, 1854, '55, '56, 
57 ; Grant Green, 1858, '59 ; L. W. Trafton, 1859, '60, '61, '62 ; C. W. 
Hutchen. 1862, '63, '64, '65; P.H. Lockett, 1866, '67, '68, '69, '70, 
'71, '72, '73, '74, '75, '76, '77, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82; James R. Dab- 
ney. 1882, '83, '84, '85 ; John F. Lockett, 1886,. '87. 

COUNTY ATTORNEY. 

Thomas Towles. 1840, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47 ; Towlesand 
Haggin, 1848, '49, '50, '51 ; W. L. Stone, 1852, '53; D. C. Simrall 
1854 ; W. L. Porter, 1854, '55, '56; P. H. Lockett, 1856, '57, '58, '59 
'60, '61 ; James B. Lyne, 1862, '63, '64, 65 ; John W. Lockett, 1865 
Malcolm Yeaman, 1865 ; J. H. Powell, 1866, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72 
J. A. Coleman, 1872 ; H. H. Shouse, 1874, '75, '76, '77, '78, '79 
William P. McCIain, 1880, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, •"86, '87. 

COUNTY surveyor's. 

Dan'l Talbott, 1799. 1800, '1, '2, '3, '4, '5, '6, '7, '8, '9, '10, '11, '12, 
'13, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24 '25, '26, '27, '28, 



824 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, RY. 

'29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '40; D. N. Walden, 
1840, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, 
'56, '57, '58, '59; Chas. Dixon, 1859, '60; J, D. Robards, 1860; R. 
S. Eastin, 1860, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, 'm, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, 
'73, '74, '75, 76 ; R. Scroggin Eastin, 1877, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83; 
Judson H. Elam, 1882, '83 ; R. Scroggin Eastin, 1884, '85, '88 ; A. 
C. Walker, 1887 ; Chas. W. Quinn, 1887. 

COMMISSION OF TAX. 

Aneas McCallister, 1800, '1, '2, '3, '4, '5 ; Fayette Poieyj, 1806, 
'7, '8, '9, '10, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18 ; Wm. Williams, 1819, 
'20, '21, '22 ; Joel Lambert and James McMahan, 1822 ; H. T. 
Grigsby, 1823, Dan'l McBride, 1824, '25 ; Levin Arnett, Chas. W. 
Allen, Dan'l McBride, Richard G. Hart. Thos. McMullin, John New- 
man, Newman Windsor, John Miller, 1826 : A. Hallam, G. T. Har- 
rison, Larkin White, Joseph McMullin, M. M. Yeargin, Levin Arnett, 
John Newman, John Miller, Elisha Powell, Y. E. Allison, 1827 : Jas. 
Bell and Samuel Hopkins, 1828 ; Jas. McMahan and Baxter D. 
Cheatham, 1829; Joseph A. Barnett and William Green, 1830, '31, 
'32; William Green and Arthur Quinn. 1833; Wm. R. Abbott, 1834; 
Joel Lambert and Burney Hancock, 1835 ; W. R. Abbott, 1836 and 
'37; W. R. Abbott, Arthur Quinn and Wm. F. Quinn, 1838, '39: 
Arthur Quinn, W. F. Quinn, James Rouse, 1840, '41, '42; John O. 
Cheaney and Henry M. Cheaney, 1843; Levin W. Arnett and Joseph 
C. Arnett, 1844 ; Levin W. Arnett, Stephen Arnett, Nelson Felch, 
1845; Levin W. Arnett, Stephen Arnett, Alex. R. Bailey and Arthur 
Quinn, 1846; W. E. Lambert, D. N. Walden and T. F. Cheaney, 
1847; J. M. Stone, Abram Hatchett, 1848; Thos. J. Lockett, W. E. 
Lambert, A. H. Baily, 1849 ; Thos. J. Lockett. Joseph C. Newman, 
1850; Thos. J. Lockett, Abram Hatchett, 1851. 

ASSESSORS. 

Thos. J. Lockett, 1852, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58 ; Joseph H. 
Hancock, 1859, '60, '61, '62 ; Alvan Jones, 1863; C. M. Pennell 1864; 
Hector Green, 1865 ; John T. Moore, Jess Robertson, 1866; William 
Suggett, 1867, '68, '69, '70, '71; H. H. Farmer, 1872, '73; OB. 
Smith, 1874, '75, '76, '77; A. M. Bunch, 1878, '79, '80, '81; O. B. 
Smith, 1882, '83, '84, '85, '86; James H. Lockett, 1887. 

CORONERS. 

Dan'l Smith, 1800, '4, '5, '6, '7, '8; Thos. Bell, 1809, '10, '11, 
'12 ; Evans Barnett, 1818, '19, '20, '21, '22; Hampton Jones, 1823, 
'24; Henry Dixon, 1825, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32, '33; Arthur 
Quinn, 1834, '35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '40, '41 ; James Rouse, 1842, '43, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 825 

'44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; James Rouse, 1851, '52, '53, '54, '55, 
'56, '57, '58 ; W. F. Quinn, 1859, '60, '61 ; John C. Stapp, 1862, '63, 
'64, '65 ; R. G. Rouse, 1866, '(ij. '68, '69 ; John Kriel, 1870, '71, '72, 
'73, '74, '75; Tom Ryan, '1882; J. R. Church, 1883 > D. W. Cum- 
mings, 1884, '85, '86, 87. 

POOR HOUSE SUPERINTENDENTS, 

James W. Gibson, 1857 and '58; Isham Cottingham, 1859, '60, 
'61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67, '68. '69, '70, '71 ; F. C. Denton, 1863, 
'64, '65, '66; Green W. Pritchett. 1872; Ben. F. Gibson, 1873, '74, 
D. W. Denton. 1875, '76; H. H. Lawrence, 1877; J. W. Shortridge, 
1878, '79; John G. Gibson, 1880, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87. 

COMMON SCHOOLS COMMISSIONERS. 

John McCullagh, 1840, to 1872 ; H. H. Farmer, 1872, '73, '74, 
'75, '76,' 77, '78, '79; Ezra, C. Ward, 1880, '81, '82, '83 ; A. L. Smith, 
1884, '85 ; Wm. Hatchitt, 1886, '87. 

COUNTY TREASURERS. 

Francis E. Walker, 1837, '38, '39, '40; William Rankin, 1840, 
'41, '42, '43, '44. '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50, '51 ; James M. Stone, 
1872 to 1883, inclusive, 1884, '85, '86, '87. 

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS. 

John B. Hart, 1867 to 1875; P. B. Mathews, 1875 to 1877; Ed. 
R. Moore, 1877 to 1878; F. L. Turner, 1878 to 1884 ; John T. Hand- 
ley ; 1884, '85, '86 ; F. M. Hutchinson, 1886, '87. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF ROADS 

J. T. Wilson, 1873; John W. S- Farley, 1874; M. F. Walden, 
1875; J. T. Farley, 1877, '78; C. S. Royster, 1878, '79; A.L. Smith, 
1880, '81, '82, '83. Road law changed. Judge J. R. Dabney, 1883, 
'84, '85, '86. Law again changed and Esq. James V. Lilly elected, 
1886, '87. 

auditor's AGENTS. 

A. J. Dudley, 1869 to 1881 ; John F. Lockett, 1881, '82, '83, '84, 
'85 ; James Alves, 1886, '87. 

JAIL PHYSICIANS. 

Dr. J. A. Hodge, 1873 to 1878 ; Dr. James H. Letcher, 1878 to 
1880; Dr. J. A. Hodge, 1880 ; Dr. A. Dixon, 1881, '82, '83; Dr. S. 
C. Smith, 1884; Dr. B R. Helm, 1885, '86, '87. 

PAYMASTER FORTY-FIRST REGIMENT STATE MILITIA. 

Ambrose Barbour, 1813 to 1822; John Miller, 1822 to 1829; Dr. 
Thos. J. Johnson, X829 to 1850. 



826 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY, 

PHYSICIANS — COUNTY POOR HOUSE. 

Dr. Sam C Smith, 1873, 74, 75, 76, 77; Dr. A. S. Jones, 1878, 
79, '80; Dr. Sam C. Smith, 1881, '82; Dr. Rice, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87, 

INSPECTOR OF OILS. 

John Geibel, 1875; J. Henry Lyne, 1876, 78, '79, '80; Thomas 
F. Cheaney, 1880 '81, '82, '83; Dr. Nathan Oberdorfer, 1884, '85, 
'86, '87. 

COUNTY JUSTICES, FROM 1799 TO 1887. 

OLD CONSTITUTION. 

Charles Davis, 1799, 1800, '1, '2, '3, '4; Jacob Barnett, 1799, 1800, 
'1, % '3; Daniel Ashby, 1799, 1800, '1, '2, '3; John Husbands, 1799, 
1800, 1801; Eaneas McCallister, 1799, 1800, '1, '2, '3, '4, '5, '6, '7, '8; 
Jacob Newman, 1799, 1800, '1, '2, '3, '4, '5, '6, 7, '8, '9, '10; Silas 
McBee, 1802, '3, '4, '5, '6, '7, '8; Elijah King, 1803, '4, '5, '6, '7, '8, '9, 
'10; John Waggner, 1803, '4, '5, '6; Thomas Prather, 1804, '5, '6, '7, 
'8, '9; J^n Posey, 1804, '5, '6, '7, '8, '9; Daniel McBride, 1804, '5, '6, 
'7, '8, '9, '10, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15; Fielding B. Jones, 1803, '4, '5, '6, 
'7, '8, '9, '10, '11, '12, '13; Benjamin Talbott, 1805, '6, 7, '8, '9, '10, 
'11, '12, '13, '14, as, '16, '17, ^8, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26, 
'27, '28, '29; Philip Barbour, 1810, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17; 
James Bell, 1807, '8, '9, '10, '11, '12, '13; Henry Garrard, 1807, '8, '9, 
'10; Joseph Delanv, 1808, '9, '10, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16; John 
Davis, 1816, '17, '18. 1821, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26, '27; John Holloway, 
1816, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23; John Faulkner, 1816, '17, '18; 
Robert Smith, 1816, '17. '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26, 1829, 
'30, '31, '32, '33, '34 '35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44; 
Samuel A. Bowen, 1816, '17, T8, '19, '20; James M. Hamilton, 1816, 
'17, '18, '19; Charles Jennings, 1816, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, 
'24, '25, '26; Fayette Posey, 1816, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24, 
J2h; Samuel Hopkins, 1816, '17, '18, '19, '20; William Clary, 1816, '17, 
^ 18; John Miller, 1819, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29, 
80, '31; William Jones, 1819, '20, '21; Walter Alves, 1819; Willie 
Sugg, 1819, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24; Robert Terry, 1820, '21, '22, '23, 
24, '25, '26; Charles Winfrey, 1821, '22, '23, '24, '25; Charles W. 
Allen, 1821, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26, '27; Nathaniel F. Ruggles, 1821, 
'22, '23, '24; John Green, Jr., 1821, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29, 
'30, '31, '32; Augus'in Green, 1822, '23 '24; John Christian, 1822, '23, 
'24, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, '3,5; Thomas Towles, 
1823, '24, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37' '38, 
'39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45; Jonathan Taylor, 1824; James Alves, 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 827 

1824, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '81, '32, '33, '37, '35, '36, '44, '45, '46, 
'47, '48, '49, '50; James Powell, 1825, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32, 
'33, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '^; Samuel Davis, 1825, '26, '27, '28, 
'29, '30, '31, '32, '33; '34; Garland Cosby, 1825, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, 
'31, '32, '33, '34. '35, '36, '37, '38, '39; John J. Hart, 1825, '26, '27, 
'28; John Newman, 1825, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35, 
'36, '37, '38, '39, '40; George McCormick, 1825, '26, '27; George H. 
Anderson, 1825, '26, '27, '28; James Lyne, 1827, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32; 
Haywood Alves, 1827, '28, '29, '30, '3l', '32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, 
'39.' '40, '41, '42. '43, '44; William R. Abbott, 1828, '29, '30, '31, '32, 
'33; Barney Hancock, 1829, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, 
'39, '40; John H. Collins, 1830, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35; Joseph McMullen, 
1830, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, '39; John D. Anderson. 1831, 
'32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, 43, 44; George W. 
King, 1831, '32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, '30, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, 
'45, '46, 1849, '50, '51; Joseph Cowan, 1832, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, 
'38, '39, '40, '41; William Green, 1833, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '40, 
'41, '42, '43, '44, '45. '46, '47, '48, '49; James S. Priest, 1834, '35, 
'36, '37, '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45; John E. McCallister, 1835, 
'36, '37, '38, '39. '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; 
Edmund L. Starling, 1835, '36. '37. '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, 
'45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; Hull Higginson, 1835, '36, '37, '38, '39, 
'40, '4L '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; John G. Holloway, 
1837, '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; William 
Rankin, 1837, '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, 
'50; George F. Edwards, 1839, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, 
'49. '50; George Brown, 1839, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48,' 
'49, '50; Young E. Allison, 1841, '42, '43, '44, '45, '46, '47. '48, '49, 
'50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '59, '66, '67, '68. '69; Owen Thomas, 1841, '42. 
'43, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50, '51; Furney A. Cannon, 1843, '44, 
'45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; Gabriel Lilly, 1845, '46, '47, '4«, '49, '50, 
'51; James D. Hatchett, 1847, '48, '49, '50, '51; William P. Grayson, 
1847, '48, '49, '50, '51; Thomas P. Lambert, 1847, '48, '49, '50, '51; 
James H. King, 1849, '50, '51; Leven W. Arnett, 1849, '50, '51; W. 
B. Rudy, 1849, '50, '51. 

NEW CONSTITUTION. 

Robert Dixon, 1851, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; John 
T. Moore, 1851, '52, '53, '54; James H. King. 1851, '52, '53, '54, '55; 
James Thomas, 1851, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58; John E. Gibson, 
1851, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; Russell K. Thornberry, 
1861, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; Benjamin Talbott, 18 51 



828 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

John T. Grider, 1851, '52; Wm. E. Bennett, 1851, '52, '53, '54, '55, 
'56, '57, '58, ' '59, '60; Isom Johnson, 1851, '52, '53, '54, '55; H. L. 
Cheaney, 1851. '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; Wm. S. Hicks, 
1851, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59; L. Weaver, 1851, '52, '53, 
'54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; Isaac M. Freels, 1851, '52; George W. 
Knight, 1852. '53; Thomas H. Powell, 1853, '54, '55. '56, '57, '58, 
'59, '60; Samuel W. Pruitt, '1854, '55; Wm. H. Cunningham, 1854, 
'55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; Robert B. Cabell, 1854, '55, '56, '57, '58, 
'59, '60; E. T. Hazel wood, 1855, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60, '61, '62, '63, 
'64, '65, '66; Isham Cottingham, 1855, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60, '61, '62, 
'63, '64, '65, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70; Joseph Snow, 1856, '57, '58, '59, 
'60; Hiram Turner, 1856, '57, '58, '59, '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, 
'67, '68, '69, '70, '71; P. D. Cheatham, 1856, '57, '58, '59, '60; P. H. 
Hillyer, 1856, '57, '58; B. T. Martin, 1857, '58, '59, '60; Wm. F. 
Mason, 1859, '60; James Wilson, Jr., 1759, '60; Jesse Lame, 1859, 
'60 '61, '62; Harbert A. Powell, 1859. '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, 
'67, '68, '69, '70; J. J. Quinn, 1859, '60; John H. Poole, 1859, '60, 
'61; F. E. Walker, 1860, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66; P. A. Blackwell, 
1860; H. H. Farmer, 1860, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66; J. A. Moss, 
1860, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67, '68, '60, '70; J. A. Keith, 1859, 
'60, '61, '62; S. S. Sizemore, 1860, '61, '62; W. W. Shelbv, 1860, '61, 
'62, '63, '64, '65. '66, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, ''74; Martin 
Basket, 1861. '62, '63; John H. Shackelford, 1862, '63, '64, '65, '66, 
'67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, '74; Ben F. Gibson, 1863, '64, '65, '66, 
'67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73; W. H. Hancock, 1863, '64; Hugh P. 
Randolph, 1863, '64, '65, '66; Thomas R. Long, 1863, '64, '65, '66, 
'67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, '74, '75. '76, '77, '78; Richard Keach, 
1863, '64, '65, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, '74; Asher Cheaney, 
1863. '64, '65, '66; Charles C. Fades, 1863, '64, '65, '66; P. H. Lockett, 
1863, '64, '65, '66; Wm. M. Stembridge, 1864, '65; John F. Toy, 1864, 
'65, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, '74; C. S. Royster, 1865, '66, 
'67, '68, '69, '79, '71, '72, '73, '74; Wm. E.Green, 1865, '66, '67, '68; 
Charles C. Ball, 1865, '66; James H. Powell, 1865, '66; Jesse Basket, 
1867, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, '74, '75, '76, '77; A. Oliver, 1867, 
'68, '69, '70, '71; J. R Wilson, 1867, '68, '69, '70; Wm H. Sandefur, 
1867, '68, '69, '70, '71; J. A. Priest, 1867, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72, '73, 
'74, '75, '76, '77; Robert T. Walton,' 1870, '71; J. M. Stone, 1870, '71, 
'72, '73, '74, '75, '76, '77, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87; 
E. H. Lewis, 1870, '71, '72, '73, '74; Thomas J. Jordon, 1870, '71, 
'72, '73, '74, '75, '76, '77, '78, '79, '80; George W. Griffin, 1871, '72, 
'73, '74; E. M. Johnson, 1871, '72^ J. E. Denton, 1871, '72, '73; G. 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 829 

W Pritchelt, 1871, 72, '73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78; W. S. Cooper, 1871, 
72 73 74- A. F. Parker, 1871, 72, 73; J. T. Farley, 1872, 73; A. 
A. Hicks, 1872, 73; W. H. Webster, 1874, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, '80, 
'81, '82. 'SS, '84, '85, '86, '87; Samuel W. Rankin, 1874; J. T. Wilson, 
1874; John Watson, 1874; Thomas Spencer, 1874, '75, '76, '77, '78, 
79 ''80 '81, '82, '83; Harvev Dixon, 1875, '76, '77, '78; John R. 
Bailey, 1875,' '76, '77, '78; Richard A. Miller, 1875, '76, 77, '78; 
WiUiam Hatchett, 1875, '76, '77; James V. Lilly, 1875, '76, '77, '78, 
79 '80 '81 '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87; Radford Dunn, 1875, 76, '77; 
R M. Schaeffer, 1875, '76, '77, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83; D. W. 
Denton, 1875, '76, '77; J. R. Seigler, 1875, '76; Theo. Lewis, 1875, 
'76, '77; Talbert Kelly, 1875, '76, '77, '78, '79; George T. Baldwin, 
1876, '77, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87; Alney A. Lewis, 
1878- A C. Walker, 1878, '79, Peter P. Brown, 1878, '79, '80, '81, 
'82 '83- Wm. McMahan, 1878, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, 
'87- W H Carlin, 1878, '79; A. Hatchitt, 1878, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83, 
'84', '85, '86, '87; J. W. Otey, 1878, '79, '80. '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, 
'86', '87; E. R. Hopkins, 1878, '79, '80, '81, '82. '83; U. J. Jerdon, 
1878, '79, '80, '81, '82, '83; John_A._Bennett, 1878; R. E. Farley, 
Peter Abell, 1879, '80, '81, '82, '83; R. S. Eastin, 1879, '80, '81, '82, 
'83; Thomas Long, 1879, '80, '81, '82, '83; M. J. Heist, 1879, '80, 
'81- E. R. Swan, 1881, '82, '83; Wm. Hampton, 1879, '80; J. W. 
Ealkins, 1879, '80, '81, '82, '83, 'S4, '85, '86; George Lyne, 1879, '80, 
'81, '82, '83, '84; W. E. Rovster, 1880; Wm. H. Wells, 1880, '81, '82, 
'83^ J. A. Melton, 1881, '82, '83; J. C. Allen, 1883, '84, '85, '86; P. 
C. AUin, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87; Louis Remole, 1883, '84, '85, '86, 
'87; W. A. Sandefur, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87; W. F. Hazelwood, 1883, 
'84', '85, '86, '87; Louis Hancock, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87; James B. 
Collins,' 1883, '84, '85; James T. Lewis, 1883, '84, '85; Wm. Wagner, 
1883, '84, '85, '86; Thomas Crow, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87; L. M. 
Crofton, 1883, '84, '85, '86, '87; Thomas H. McKinley, 1883, '84, '85, 
'86, '87; John T. Bask^tt, 1885, '86, '87; John T. Moore, 1887; Walter 
A. 'towIcs, 1885, '86, '87; J. H. Connaway, 1885, '86, '87; J' C. Utley, 
1886, '87; R. M. Schaeffer, 1887; J. T. Seitz, 1887; R. A. Haskins, 
I887'; C. W. Long, 1887; Lloyd R. Green, 1887; H. A. Jones, 1887. 

CONSTABLES. 

Jonathan Anthony, 1799, 180(1, '1, '2, '3 ; Asa Webb, 1760, 1800, 
'1, '2; Jacob WinemiUer, 1799, 1800, '1, '2; John Orr, 1803, '4, '5; 
Fred Buck, 1804, '5; John Mann, 1804, '5; John Mobley, 1805, '6, 
'8, '8, '9, '10, '11. '12, '13, '14 ; David Wright, 1806, '7 ; Peter Cravens, 
1806, '7 ; Swepton Jones, 1806, '7 ; John Cooper, 1807, '8 ; Ephraim 



830 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KV. 

Sellers, 1808, '9, '10, '11; Benjamin, 1809, '10; Stephen Grimes, 
1809, '10; Richard Jones, 1809, '10; Wm. Liggett, 1809, '10: Lewis 
Reed, 1810, '11 ; John Wheeler, 1810, 11 ; Nathan J. Floyd, 1810,'ll ; 
PhiHp McNamar, 1812, '13; M. Book, 1812, '13; Edward Bennett, 
1813, '14; Lewis Lambert, 1814, '15 ; Jas. Roberts, 1814, '15; Joseph 
Patterson, 1814, '15; Wm. Walker, 1816, '17 ; Jas. Powell, 1814, 15, 
'16, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24; Thos. D. Anderson, 1814, '15, 
'16, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24 ; Berryman Ezel, 1814, '15, '16, 
'17, '18, '19, '20, '21, 22, '23, '24; Peter D. Green, 1815, '16, '17,'18, 
'19; Robert McCreary, 1815, '16, '17, 18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24, 
'25, '26; Joel Lambert, 1817, '18; Elijah Shelton, 1817, '18, '19, '20, 
'21 ; Geo. Wiggins, 1815, '16, '17, '18, '19, '20, '21 ; William Wil- 
liams, '1817, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22; Philip Cheaney, 1819, '20, '21, 
'22; William Wilson, 1819, '20, '21, '22 ; Joseph Lewis, 1820, '21, '22, 
'23; Robert D. Farris, 1820, '21; Baxter Cheatham, 1820, '21, '22, 
'23, '24, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29 ; William Hallerfield, 1816, '17, '18, '19, 
'20, '21, '22, '23 ; Thos. H. Horndon, 1820, '21 ; John W. Green, 
1822, '23; Augustine Green, Jr., 1822, '23; Gabriel Horton, 1822, 
'23, '24, '25; Doak Previtt, 1810, '11, 'li!, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, 
'19, '20, '21, '22, '23; Edwin Jones, 1823, '24, '25, '26 and out; 
James Rouse, 1823, '24, '25, '26, '27, '28, '29, '30, '31, '32. '33, '34, 
'35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, resigned; James Cheatham, 1824, 
'25, '26, out; John Green, Jr., 1821, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26, '27; 
Humphrey Davis, 1826, '27, '28, ; Isaac Strain, 1826, '27, '28, '29, 
'30, '1, '2, '3. '4, '5, '6 ; Andrew Hallam, 1826, '27 ; Francis Hill, 
1827, '28; Larkin White, 1827, '28. '29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35, 
'36, '37, '38 ; Garland Cosby, 1827, '28, '29, '30, '31, out ; Robt. G. 
Rouse, 1827, '28, '29, '38; Jas. C. Hicks, 1828, '29; Hull Higgin- 
son, 1828, '29, '30, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35 ; H. B. Davis, 1828, '29 ; 
Adam Rouse, 1828, '29; John H. Stanley, 1829, '30; Joseph H. Bar- 
nett, 1829, '30, '31, '32; Jesse B. Green, 1829, '30, '31, '32, '33 ; 
John C. Green, 1830, '31, out ; Nathaniel Powell, 1830, '31, '32, '33, 
'34, '35, '36, '37, out; Wm. D. Nunn, 1831, '32, '33, '34, '35,'36,'37, 
'38, '39, '40, '41, '42 ; Jas. H. Green, 1831, '32, '33, '34, '35, '36,'37, 
'38, '39, died; William F. Quinn, 1831, '32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, '38, 
'39, '40, '41; Franklin Higginson, 1831, '32, '33, '34, '35, '36, '37, 
out; Arthur Quinn, 1834, '35, '36, '37, '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, 
resigned; Wm. R Abbott, 1834, '35, '36, '37, '38; Willis Pruitt, 
1836, '37; John Pritchett, 1836, '37, '39, '40, '41, '42; John McCor- 
mick, 1837; James D. Hatchitt, 1837; John Fades, 1837, '38; Sam'l 
F. Negley, 1837, '38, '39, '40; Jas. D. Walden, 1837, '38; Thomas 



HISTORY OF HENDERSON COtTNTY, KY. . 83 1 

Sandefur, 1838, '39; John B. Hast, 1838, '39, '40; Jas. Thomas, 

1838, '39; Joseph Crenshaw, 1838, '39; John C. Watkins, 1838, ^39, 
'40, '41, '42;* Stephen Gregory, 1839; Andrew J. Eakins, 1829, '40^ 
Daniel Hazlewood, 1839, '40, ^1, '42, '43 ; Nicholas P. Newland, 

1839, '40; Thos. B. Lewis, 1840, '41; Albert G. Collend, 1840, '41, 
John J. Quinn, 1841, '42, '43, '44, '45; L. F. Danfoth, 1842, '43,'44, 
'45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; John A. Griffin, 1841, '42; Robert B. 
Whayne, 1842, '43; Albert G. Saunders, 1842, '43; Nathaniel J. 
Hicks, 1842, '43 ; James A. Powell. 1842, '43 ; Wm. E. Lambert, 

1843, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; Alfred Hay, 1843, '44; John 
Stone, 1843, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48; Thos. F. Cheaney, 1843, '44, '45. 
Martin S. Hancock, 1843, '44, '45 ; Hezekiah P. Brown, 1843 ; Elijah 
Arnett, 1843, '44, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; Joseph A. Priest, 1843, 
'44; H. E. Rouse, 1844, '45, '46, '47, '48, '49, ^50 ; W. S. Hancok, 

1844, '45. '46, '47, '48, '49, '50; David G. Stone, 1845, '46; Jacob 
A. Rudy, 1845, '46; Pressley Pritchett, 1846, '47, '48, '49, '50 ; Geo. 
A. Sugg, 1846, '47, '48, '49, '50; D. N Walden, 1846, '47, '48, '49, 
'50; Thos. S. Knight, 1848, '49, '50 ; B. F. Martin, 1851. '52, '53, 
'54, '55, '56; Harbert A. Powell, 1851, '52; Geo. A. Sugg, 1851, 
'52 ; Achilles Norment, 1851, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; 
H. E. Rouse, 1851, '52; Joseph M. Priest, 1851, '52; E. T. Hazel- 
wood, 1851,'52,'53,'54,'55; Arthur Quinn, 1852, '53, '54, '55 ; John H. 
Pool, 1852,'53,'54,'55,'56,'57,'58,'59,'69; Jacob S. Rouse, 1852, '53; 
Wm. Campbell, 1852, '53; Wm. G. Denton, 1854, '55, '56, '57; John 
T. Whitledge, 1853, '54, '55 ; Thos. R. Long, 1854, '55, '56, '58, '58, 
'59, '60; L. F. Danforth, 1854, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; Rowlan 
Wells, 1854, '55, 56, '57 '58, '59, '60; Robert E. Williams. 1855, '56 ; 
J. J. Grayson, 1855, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60 ; Thos. S. Knight, 1855, 
'56, '57, '58, '59, '60 ; Rich Keach, 1855, '56, '57, '58, '59, '60; Decius 
Priest, 1856, '57 ; Sam D. Sutton, 1856, '1857, '58, '59, '60 ; Henry 
D. Williams, 1856, '57, '58, '59, ; Wm. G. Norwood, 1857. '59, '59, 
J. P. Balee, 1857, '58, '59, '60, B. F. Gibson, 1857, '58, '59, '60 ; Joel 
Parker, 1857, '58, '59, '60 ; Jenks W. Williams, 1857, '58 ; David W. 
Griffin, 1868, '59, '60, George W. Smith, 1858, '59, '60 ; John A. 
Watkins, 1859 ; J. A. Overfield, 1859, '60, '61 ; Rufus W. Levis, 1859; 
W. S. Hicks, 1859, '60, '61, '62, '64, '65 ; J. T. Hoskins, 1859, '60, 
'61, '62, '63, '67, '68, '69, '70 ; Homer Hill, 1859, '60 ; Thomas 
O. Robertson, 1860 '61, James E. Long, 1861; James T.Williams, 
1861 , A. S. Hicks 1861, '62; Thad B. Rowland, 1862, '63; A. S. 
Cheaney, 1862, '63 ; Sol S. Sizemore, 1863, '64, '65, '66, '67 ; William 
S. Cooper, 1863, 64; Harrison A. Powell, 1863, '64, '67, '68, 69, F. 



832 HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY. 

M. Cosby, 1863, '64; John F. Cosby, 1864, '65; J. A. Moss, 1865, 
'66; J. M. Sugg, 1865, '66; James E. Long, 1865, '66; John F. Wat- 
,son, 1865, '66 ; W. H. McKinney, 1865, '66, William Porter, 1866, 
'69 ; Samuel P. Broadwell, 1866, '67 ; F. C. Denton, 1866, '67 ; James 
H. Powell, Jr., 1866, '67; A. Keach, 1866, '67; E. H. Lewis, 1866, 
'67, '70, '71, '72, '73, '74, 75, '76, '77 ; J. E. Denton, 1867, '68; Basil 
Spurgeon, 1867, '68, '69 '70, '71, '72, 73, 74, '75, '76, '77, 78, '79, '80; 
W. B. Cheaney, 1868, '69; R. Scroggin Eastin, 1868, '69 ; James M. 
Willingham, 1869, 70; R. N. Royster, 1869, '70, '71 ; Charles C. 
Fades, 1869, '70, '71, '72, '73, '74, '75, '76, '77; S. A. Young, 1869, 
'70, '71, '72 ; G. G. Lilly, 1871, '72 ; James C. McCarty, 1871 ; John 
R. Walton, 1870, '71, '72, '78, '79, '80 ; Robert Blanford, 1871, '72; 
David J. Royster, 1871 ; Orville Collins, 1872, '73, '74, '75, '76, '77; 
Robert E. Royster, 1872 ; John R. Church, 1872, '73, '74, '76, '77, 
'78, 79, '80 ; S. W. Street, 1873, '74, '75 ; J. W. Brisby, 1873, '74 ; 
John H. Bromley, 1873, '74, '75 ; Geo. R. Long, 1874, '75 ; Evans W. 
Gibson, 1874, '75, '76 ; Walter S. Cannon, 1875. '76, '77 ; M. M. 
Johnson, 1875, '76 ; S. W. Spencer, 1875, '76, '77, '78, '79 ; John W. 
Duncan, 1875, '76; Joseph P. Lilly, 1876, '77, '78, '79, '80; Reuben 
Giles, 1876, 77 . L. B. Walker, 1876, '77, '78, '79 ; Thomas H. Bev- 
erly, 1877; W. T. Stanley, 1877. R. H. Tillotson, 1877; Orlanda F. 
\Walker, 1877, '78, '81; C. H. Craddock, 1877, '78, '79, '80, '81; J. 
W. Stone, 1877, '78; G. A. Ligon, 187», '79, '80; L. M. Crafton, 
1878; V. B. H. Everitt, 1878, 79 ; F. Cunningham, 1878, '79, '80; G. 
B. Overfield, 1879, '81; M. P. Kounsler, 1879, '80 ; Geo. M. Edwards, 
1879, '80; John T. Vickers, 1880; John E. Hickman, 1880; R. H. 
Abbott, 1880; E. W. Cotton, 1880, '81 ; Charles R. Long, 1880, '81, 
'82; James R. Seitz, 1880, '81 ; David M. Whayne, 1880, '81; E. G. 
Walton, 1880, '81 ; H. A. Rowland, 1881, '82. '83, '84, '85, '86, '87 ; 
E, B. Lawrence' 1881, '82 ; W. R. Blake, 1882; Samuel D. Sutton, 
1882; F. Jackson, 1882; W. H. Lockett, 1882, '83, '84, '85, '86, '87; 
Noble Day, 1882, H. W. Fenley, 1882, J. W. Buckman, 1882 ; B. R. 
Curry, 1882; Thos. McGuire, 1883 ; Oliver C. Chapman, 1883 ; Henry 
Dixon, 1884; S. C. Day, 1884; Charles, B. Simms, 1884; B. F. Den- 
ton, 1885; S. D. Sutton, 1885, R. H. McMullin, 1885 ; E. Higon, 
1885 ; H. A. Jones, 1885, S. C. Day, 1885; J. R. Moss, 1885; W. 
B. Walker, 1885; J. V. Griffin, 1885; Ben. F. Cheatham, 1886; 
W. A. Collins, 1886; A. G, Jones, 1886; L. E. Church, 1886; C. H. 
Vivian, 1886. 

[the end.] 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



833 



§ § § § 



g § s § g § s g 



ESTABLISHKD 1859. 



THOS. SOAPER 



-DEALER IN- 





CARPETS, OIL CLOTHS, 

Lace CtJ.rta.ins, Ladies' and Gents' 
Fine Siloes, Wall Paper, <&c. 



HENDERSON, 



^§§gg§§gg^§»§ 



KY. 



63 



834 ADVERTISEMENTS. 

KSTABLISHKD 1850. 



G. A. MAYER'S SON, 



-DEALER IN- 



WTf Jk TS& T^ 1^ 1^\ W A ^'^^^ T^^ 



N ' 





CUTLERY, GUNS, 

Agjricultural Implements, 
MILL SUPPLIES 

And Builders' Material. 



MIAMI POWDER, 

BUFFALO SCALES, 

OLD'S WAGONS, 

CHAMPION (all Iron) FENCE. 

119 Main Street, 

HENDERSON, KY. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 835 








-DISTILLERS OF— 



PEERLESSI> 



04HAND MADE SOUR MRSHdo 



o<^WHISKEY. 



Office and Wholesale Store, 

No. 225 MAIN STREET, 

Next door to Farmer's Bank, 

HENDERSON, - KENTUCKY 



836 ADVERTISEMENTS. 

ESTABLISHED 1882. 



L,F 




-DEALER IN- 



GhsiGe SpsQepies 



—AND— 



Family Supplies. 



Teas,Coffees, Fresh Oysters, Game 

And Palatable Nick Nacks of every description to be 
found in a first-class Grocery Emporium. 

The Best of Cigars and Tobacco in Stock. 



Ne^v Opera House Block, 

HENDERSON, KY. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. °^* 



^ ^ ^ "i^ 



^^^^^^■^^^^^ ^^^^^^"^^^^^^^^ 



N. OBERDORFER 



6 ill 



m 






— AND DEALER IN — 



PAINTS, OILS, VARNISHES, BRUSHES, 

Iperfumeri? an5 ZoMct Uvticlce. 

Malvina Cream and Malvina Lotion Removes Sunburn and Freckles. 
Frizetta," the Latest Preparation for the Hair. 

PRESCRIPTIONS FILLED AT ALL HOURS 

Day or Night, by a Registered Pharmacist. 



Corner First and Elm Sts., 



^^^^^^^^^^ 4finr¥"4f ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 



838 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



Rsbepli 0ix8H, 



1^ •! 



GO. 



—PROPRIETOR OF- 






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— AND OWNER OF — 



Iprincipe, XTip Uop anb Xong Zimc, 



In addition to my stable I keep constantly on hand a large 
and varied stock ot 

Undertakers' Materials. 

Managed and in charge of a competent and expert Director. 

Corner First and Elm, 

HENDERSON, KY 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 839 

ISeS.^ IBST. 

W.S.JOHNSON, 

Wholesale and Retail 

i5i5gigt3GTrgongGngc ngcHgiii WPff3'^t^>ns^^ 

r©rIST 







AND DEALER IN 



Baints, Oils, Uap^nish, 

Window Glass, etc, 

A FULL AND COMPLETE LINE OF FINE 

^Toilet iriiclss, Iriisk, [onbs, Soaps ani Perfiss.-^ 

Prescriptions a Specialty. 

Only competent, registerfed Prescriptionists are entrusted with this important 
branch of the business, and only purest and freshest medicines used . 



-PROPRIETOR OF- 



Johnson's Eye Salve, Cholera Medicine, 

Cough Syrup, Hog Cholera Medicine. 

Corner Main & Second Streets, 

H^NP^RSON, KY. 



840 ADVERTISEMENTS. 

GEO. A. DELVIN. ROBT. A. HO LLOW A Y . 

Delvin ScHolloway, 

fflAGHINISJPS, 

BLiAGP^SMITHS 

AND fflOULDEI^S. 



—Manufacturers and Dealers in all kinds of- 



Macliinery, BlacksiuitliiBg, Steam Pipe 



Brass and Iron Fittings.Wrought Iron Fencing, 

And Iron and Brass Castings of Kvery KLind. 



Having established a permanent Factory at Henderson, we are 
prepared to furnish 

THE o COMBINATION <> FENCE ! 

To Farmers and others: — The Fence is composed of six, eight and ten 
annealed steel and galvanized wire, with forty pickets per rod, at prices from 
forty to seventy -five cents per rod, saving the farmers more than $200 per mile 
It is cheap, strong, durable, pig tight, horse high and bull strong, easily put 
up, easily removed, suitable for fields, roads, stock lots, orchards, hay stacks, 
town lots, and well adapted to bottom lands. Will resist a strain of 10,000 
pounds per rod. Thousands of miles of this Fence have been sold in Mis- 
souri, Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois. Our Fancy Fence cannot be surpassed 
for strength and beauty. It is now being used everywhere. Come and see us. 



Office Stud. lE^e^otox-yz 

Cor. Elm & R. R. Sts. HENDERSON, KY 



'^f-H m9 




"^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 














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